\u201cI can\u2019t believe it. It was Odveig\u2014I mean, Sacra, the entire time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Durene. I didn\u2019t realize it until it was too late. Damnit, I feel like an idiot\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut how? She didn\u2019t act like\u2014she was always so respectful and\u2014and not like a spy at all! I thought Wiskeria was odd when you said she might be the one, but\u2014Odveig?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe best spy\u2019s one you don\u2019t see coming, Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd she works for Lady Magnolia? I mean\u2026the <\/em>Lady Magnolia?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know her?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone does. She\u2019s Magnolia Reinhart. She\u2019s\u2026why\u2019d she want you, Laken? Why\u2019d she send Odveig?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. Curiosity, maybe. Or\u2014no, it\u2019s no use questioning it. But now she\u2019s gone and we could have really used her, Odveig\u2019s abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. You know, when she hit me, I didn\u2019t feel a thing? She just tapped my head, like that, and it was\u2026poof! What level do you think she was?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHigh. It was a mistake to confront her. Not that I knew it was her. Now Wiskeria\u2019s afraid she\u2019s trapped in some political game, and the adventurers are nervous. It was a mistake to do this now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you know who was causing trouble now, right? That\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but we don\u2019t know why<\/em>, Durene. We don\u2019t know why and if she did anything else and what she\u2019ll tell Lady Magnolia. We don\u2019t know\u2014and the Goblins are still out there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. They shot arrows at Gamel when he was cutting wood. Everyone\u2019s afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh! But they know you\u2019ll take care of it! You have a plan, right Laken? Right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014I have something, Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u2014well, it\u2019s just a guess. An idea, really. The Goblins are hiding, and I\u2019ve been taking\u2026steps\u2026to deal with them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSteps is good. But what\u2026? Is it a secret?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Just stupid. I mean, it sounds stupid in my head. It\u2019s got to do with Jelov. I\u2019ll\u2014you know what? It\u2019s time. I have to try it. Otherwise we\u2019re in trouble. We\u2019ve lost Odveig, I mean, Sacra, Durene. Everyone\u2019s afraid. It\u2019s only a matter of time before someone tries to run or gets killed, or people try to replace me\u2014either way, that\u2019s when the Goblins attack and we all die.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t let them do that. I\u2019ll kill them. All of them. By myself, if I have to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLaken?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know you\u2019d do that, Durene. But it\u2019s my job to\u2014to make things easier. I\u2019ll do it tomorrow. And the situation with Wiskeria and the others\u2014we\u2019ll deal with it afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if she\u2019s, you know, angry I tried to hit her?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen she can be angry. But she\u2019ll obey. We\u2019re only coming out of this one way, Durene, and that\u2019s if we stick together. And I\u2019ll do it. I\u2019ll make us fight as one if I have to force everyone to do it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. That\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally? That sounds terrible to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell forcing people, yeah\u2026but you\u2019re you, Laken. I know you\u2019ll help everyone, even if it means twisting their arms.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHah. You always know what to say, Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLaken? Are we going to die?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026No, Durene. I won\u2019t let it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood. But if we do, I wanted to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShh. Go to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I wanted to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know. I love you too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Day 69<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Three attacks. Arrows flying out of the woods and Goblins charging a group of the villagers. Both times there were only wounded, not the dead\u2014the Windfrozen Riders chased the Goblins away before they could do more than cut at the villagers.<\/p>\n And yet, the pain is still there. I can hear a man screaming and whimpering before the healing potion is applied sparingly to his leg. An oval of flesh had been carved off of his leg.<\/p>\n It\u2019s too much. I can sense the villagers\u2019 fear, sense the adventurers wavering. Odveig\u2019s sudden departure and the suspicion Wiskeria was put under has rattled both groups. Wiskeria\u2019s in charge now, but she\u2019s jumpy too. Whatever relationship I had with her is strained\u2026<\/p>\n But we\u2019re all in the same boat. I don\u2019t know if Odveig\u2014I mean, Sacra, got away safely, or if she was killed by the Goblins. We\u2019re cut off right now. Isolated.<\/p>\n But not hopeless. Not yet. Once I\u2019m done talking to Prost, I stride over to my one hope, my secret weapon, my ace in the hole.<\/p>\n Jelov looks up at me as I find him eating in the barn.<\/p>\n \u201cYour majesty, can I do something for you?\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t waste time with pleasantries.<\/p>\n \u201cThe markers, Jelov. Are they done?\u201d<\/p>\n He sounds startled.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, your worship. Not polished as good as could be, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood, have them brought out. I\u2019ll be using them in a few moments.\u201d<\/p>\n I leave him scrambling to get up and find Wiskeria. I think she\u2019s trying to hide from me, but I know where she is. The [Witch] tenses.<\/p>\n \u201cYour majesty, about Odveig. I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWiskeria, how dangerous would it be to go\u2026let\u2019s say four miles out of the village with a wagon and plant something in the ground?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlant? What?\u201d<\/p>\n She stares at me. I\u2019m not making sense. I take a steadying breath. Calm down.<\/p>\n \u201cI have six\u2014no, seven wooden markers. Each one\u2019s thick\u2014and heavy. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen Jelov carving them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014yes, sire?\u201d<\/p>\n Still not making sense. I speak slower.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to plant them in the ground. Each one needs to be hammered into the ground in a circle around Riverfarm. Deep. Somewhere where they won\u2019t fall down, around four miles or so away from the village. Can it be done with a small group? Without danger?\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria stares at me. She opens her mouth, hesitates, and then answers without asking the why of it.<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose it\u2019s possible, your majesty. It\u2019d be a job for the Windfrozen Riders, and risky. If they\u2019re attacked. Otherwise we could send out a huge band, but that would leave the village undefended and I guarantee the Goblins are waiting for that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n I nod.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, a small group, then. What would that entail?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026Four riders, I suppose. Six, maybe, depending on how heavy the markers are. It would slow them down, and hammering it into the ground would take\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if Durene carried the markers? She could probably drive them into the earth with her bare hands.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria gulps and I hear the noise.<\/p>\n \u201cThat could work. But it would be dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve said that. How<\/em> dangerous?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t risk it, your majesty. Why\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGive me odds, Wiskeria. Solid odds. Out of ten.\u201d<\/p>\n She pauses.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026Four in ten odds they\u2019re attacked, sire. If they move fast enough, if they keep in the open.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood. In that case\u2014do it. Seven points around Riverfarm, evenly spaced as possible. A perimeter. Four miles away from the village, each one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not discussing this, Wiskeria. Do it. Take Durene with you to make it quicker and however many people you need to feel safe, but get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n I turn away from Wiskeria abruptly. My faith in her is\u2026weakened. I thought I could trust her. She wasn\u2019t the spy, but she did place us in danger with the Mossbear. That might have been her doing, not Sacra\u2019s. That she didn\u2019t come clean about it bothers me most.<\/p>\n And Sacra. It seems like she was one of Magnolia\u2019s spies, someone who could pose as a Silver-rank team leader when needed. Was her hiring Wiskeria really due to them being old friends? Or was the entire team in on it?<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know. I only know that she\u2019s gone and the Goblins are my biggest threat. I stand in the village and hear the Windfrozen Riders\u2014and Durene depart.<\/p>\n My heart is beating too quickly. I\u2019m taking a huge risk. I\u2019m gambling their lives\u2014and Durene\u2019s on this. I wouldn\u2019t risk her for anything, but I have to do this. It has to work.<\/p>\n Prost hurries up to me, worried.<\/p>\n \u201cEmperor Laken, I heard you\u2019d ordered a group to take Jelov\u2019s decorated poles out and place them in the dirt. It\u2019s not my place to say, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen don\u2019t, Prost. I know what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n He falls silent. I wait, feeling seconds turn into hours, at least in my mind I feel a twinge of guilt, realizing Prost is standing with me. I\u2019d like to explain. However, I might be wrong.<\/p>\n No, I can\u2019t be wrong. But nothing else has been going my way of late. Goblins. Spies. It\u2019s all out of control. I have only this idea\u2014hell, it\u2019s not even mine!<\/em> I just want it to work. It has to work. Otherwise\u2014<\/p>\n Thump.<\/em><\/p>\n There\u2019s a feeling in my chest. I pause; put a hand to my chest. I can sense Prost looking at me worriedly in silence.<\/p>\n Thump<\/em>. I feel it, and scraping dirt. It\u2019s coming in the direction the riders and Durene left. A sensation, far away. Miles away, in fact. I\u2019d bet anything it was exactly four miles.<\/p>\n \u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n I can feel it being hammered into the ground in the distance. It\u2019s like a beacon in my mind. Prost looks at me.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s that sire?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne, Prost. Wait for it.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s\u2026twenty minutes or more before I feel the thump<\/em> again. Can you travel four miles in twenty minutes? You can if you\u2019re running with a horse. And Durene\u2014I\u2019ll bet she can run pretty damn fast too.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo.\u201d<\/p>\n Prost looks at me, silent. But he\u2019s catching on. It\u2019s about the same time when I feel it again. Three points now, each one in the distance. One to my east, another southeast, another almost directly south\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cThree.\u201d<\/p>\n Forming a circle. It goes on. Now one to my west. It takes a while. But then\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cFour.\u201d<\/p>\n North, now. Prost is waiting and so am I. My heart is pounding. North\u2014north west.<\/p>\n \u201cFive.\u201d<\/p>\n Two left to go. I wait. The next thump <\/em>makes my body shake. I feel Prost steady me. The earth shifts. I feel it\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cSi\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n I stagger. I\u2019m not aware of Prost catching me, shouting for Wiskeria. I only know it\u2019s happened.<\/p>\n Six. That was the magic number. I feel it. A huge area of land, marked by six points, opens up in my head. Suddenly, I can see<\/em> the entire world encompassed in that space.<\/p>\n That\u2019s right. The markers. The pieces of wood Jelov worked so hard on. They\u2019re in the ground now, and they demarcate a rough hexagon, slanted oddly near the north side, but circular, around my village.<\/p>\n Six points. Six markers made of wood, bearing my symbol, claiming this land as my own. Now the points are connected in my head, and the wide area they encompass is suddenly there.<\/em> I can stretch my senses beyond the limits of the village.<\/p>\n I sense the forest, still covered with snow, the melting water as it drips off of a branch under the light from the sun, the Mossbear slumbering in its cave, a squirrel hibernating in a tree, worms wriggling under the mud near a rock<\/em>\u2014<\/p>\n And the Goblins. There they are. Hiding in the forest, a group of them armed with bows watching the adventurers and Durene racing across an open road to the last point. They\u2019re hidden in the trees, waiting in ambush. I see a Goblin raising a bow, aiming at Durene\u2019s back, an arrow drawn.<\/p>\n No! I draw breath, sightless, seeing it in my mind as Wiskeria asks me what\u2019s happening. But my soul, my very being is somewhere else. I\u2019m with Durene, watching her pant and carry the last marker, exhausted from her rapid pace. My heart is with hers, and its life rests on the arrow the Goblin sights down. He\u2019s aiming at her head. I shout.<\/p>\n \u201cStop!\u201d<\/p>\n The word echoes. It freezes the people around me\u2014and the Goblin. His arm freezes as he\u2019s about to release. He halts\u2014and then curses, looks around. The Goblin sees nothing and looks at Durene, suddenly concerned. His fellows stare at him impatiently. Durene is nearly away.<\/p>\n He hesitates, falters. I say the word again.<\/p>\n \u201cStop.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n This time the Goblin still moves. He jerks, snarls, draws the arrow to his cheek again. The word doesn\u2019t work on him fully.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a pushing, a mental shove. That\u2019s what effect my [Emperor]\u2019s command has. I can see the Goblin have to brace itself in some way as I demand he stops, but he can keep moving now he knows what\u2019s coming. This time he aims at one of the adventurers.<\/p>\n \u201cStop!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n The hesitation is barely a flicker. The Goblin releases the arrow, howling with triumph and fury. The arrow streaks after the adventurers, strikes a horse\u2019s side. The horse and rider go down and I see Durene dragging both away. The adventures are retreating. The Goblins get ready to swarm them.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a huge Hobgoblin, all fat and muscle, holding a longsword and signaling the Goblins to move in. One of two. The other Hobgoblin is closer, watching the village from afar with a group of Goblins patiently waiting in a forest clearing.<\/p>\n But this Hob. He\u2019ll try to kill Durene. I see it in his eyes. So I whisper a command to him.<\/p>\n \u201cLeave this place. Go far away and never come back.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n He starts as well. I sense his foot take a step away from Durene, and then he jerks it back. The command was almost completely ineffectual. But it gives Durene a chance to put more ground between her and the Goblins. And now he\u2019s distracted.<\/p>\n The Hob casts around. He knows something is happening, but can\u2019t see what. He\u2019s wary, rightly so. He snarls something at the Goblin archer and I see the two conferring. The Hobgoblin turns his head, stares with narrowed eyes the way the riders and Durene have gone.<\/p>\n Towards the village. Towards me.<\/p>\n In my mind, I can see Durene and the riders running back towards the village. They abandon the last marker; they have to abandon the horse too. The [Rider] slits her horse\u2019s throat, sobbing, rather than let it be taken alive by the Goblins. They come back.<\/p>\n And the Goblins do too. I see them streaming through the forest, some stopping to crap in the snow, others laughing, fingering weapons. The Hob snarls at them and they keep silent.<\/p>\n Now both Hobs are together. They gesture towards the village, the one with the sword arguing with the other. A decision is reached.<\/p>\n By the time Durene reaches the village, practically collapsing with exhaustion, I see it. The Goblins move out. A small group breaks away from the larger mass, circles around the village. The Goblins begin sharpening weapons, chattering excitedly. I sense their intent, see it in the way they move.<\/p>\n They have nets. Bundles of dry wood. They mean to capture some of the villagers and torch this place when they leave. The Hobgoblin is shouting at them, ordering them\u2014<\/p>\n \u201c\u2014Laken? Laken! <\/em>Please, get up!\u201d<\/p>\n Someone\u2019s shaking me. Someone\u2019s holding me, pleading with me. I hear a voice I love, feel sweaty, callused palms, smell Durene\u2014<\/p>\n I don\u2019t open my eyes. There\u2019s really no point. But suddenly, I\u2019m back in my body, lying in Prost\u2019s house, as Durene shakes me and Prost, Wiskeria, and all the villagers who can fit in the room hover around me. I can sense them all, hear their distressed voices. Gamel is clutching the bedframe so hard I can sense the wood splintering a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cDurene? Stop shaking me, please.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh! Thank goodness!\u201d<\/p>\n She sweeps me up into a hug that nearly kills me. I gasp, and Wiskeria and Prost manage to make Durene let go. I sit up, breathless, and look around. Prost hovers around me, worried.<\/p>\n \u201cYour majesty? What happened? One second you were speaking, the next, you fell over!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fine, Prost. I told you I had a plan. Thanks for catching me. Now\u2026I need to get up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure? If you need to rest\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUp, Prost. And then you, Wiskeria, and Beniar will meet me\u2026right here. Everyone else can get out. Durene can stay if she wants. We\u2019re going to end this thing with the Goblins right now.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This is what an [Emperor] sees. Three people, a young man, an older young woman, and an older man standing around a dining room table in a house still bearing the marks of the avalanche. I sit in a chair, holding a mug of tea.<\/p>\n And see my empire. Now it\u2019s a huge plot of land, not just a village. I see forests and hills, animals, grass and trees buried under the snow, and all things in between. This is mine.<\/p>\n And there are trespassers on my land. Thanks to my senses, I can count them all. I can see where they are. And I know we\u2019re in trouble.<\/p>\n \u201cSixty four Goblins? And two Hobs?\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria looks at me. Credit to her, after all she\u2019s been through she can still focus. Even more credit\u2014after hearing what I\u2019ve said, her voice is only slightly shaking.<\/p>\n I nod.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you\u2019re\u2026sure, your majesty? Absolutely sure?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely. I may have miscounted\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt may be higher. They move around and I lose track. But it\u2019s at least sixty four. At least.\u201d<\/p>\n She pales. I turn my attention from her, to the fidgeting young man. Beniar stares at me.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can you know this, your majesty?\u201d<\/p>\n I shrug.<\/p>\n \u201cI can see them. The markers you placed claimed this land as mine. I can sense everything that goes on in my empire, including how the Goblins are moving. It\u2019s a Skill that [Emperors] have. Or maybe just a function of my class. I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n Beniar\u2019s open-mouthed, staring at me. So is Prost, but Wiskeria\u2019s focused on what I\u2019ve said about the Goblins.<\/p>\n \u201cSixty. That\u2019s\u2026too many. We\u2019ve twelve of the Trackers and seven of Beniar\u2019s riders. We\u2019ll be overwhelmed. And two Hobs\u2014each one\u2019s as dangerous as the Mossbear. More dangerous because they can think.\u201d<\/p>\n Beniar nods. He strokes at the stubble around his chin, sounding worried.<\/p>\n \u201cSixty four. I uh\u2014if they\u2019re not trained warriors\u2014and if they are\u2014well, it\u2019s doable if we can catch them off guard, right, Wiskeria?\u201d<\/p>\n He turns hopefully to the [Witch]. She nods with less conviction and looks at me.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you know where they are, your majesty? We could ambush them and whittle their forces down. I have a few spells I could use if I had the time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n I wince. Here\u2019s the bad part. I shake my head as Prost turns, sharpening a kitchen knife with a whetstone.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are coming. I\u2014tipped them off.\u201d<\/p>\n Prost\u2019s hand slips. I sense the blood and hear him curse. Beniar starts and Wiskeria gets up\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nothing. Your majesty, if they\u2019re coming, we\u2019re doomed. At least, that\u2019s what I understand from my own class and the looks on these adventurer\u2019s faces.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps. But if we run, they\u2019ll hunt us down, Prost. If we can fight them back\u2026there is a chance. We\u2019ve been training the villagers, and there are over a hundred and fifty of us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot all warriors, sire. Many children, folk too old or injured to fight, and most\u2019ve never fought anything before. A far cry from a seasoned Goblin [Warrior].\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. I know.\u201d<\/p>\n Silence. I can sense the adventurers and Prost looking at each other. But there\u2019s no options available. Wiskeria clears her throat.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can rely on the palisades, block off the main street now we know they\u2019re coming. I\u2019ll prepare spells; see what the best area to fight in is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Beniar springs to his feet. I raise a hand and he stops.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n I detected a group of Goblins splitting off from the main force, circling around the village. They\u2019re clearly trying to flank us. When I tell Wiskeria that, she nods.<\/p>\n \u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty\u2026three. Including one of the Hobs. That leaves fewer Goblins to attack from the front, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut more to hit us where we least want them. I have a proposal, your majesty. If we let the Windfrozen Riders handle them\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Beniar\u2019s outraged. Wiskeria freezes him with a cold stare.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have seven people in your group, Beniar. Seven, including you. I doubt you could fight off that many alone. We\u2019ll give you some other villagers who can use bows.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but\u2014that leaves the Trackers and villagers to hold off forty Goblins and a Hob!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have to do it. We can\u2019t risk being attacked from two sides. If you can finish off your group, you can help us. But we can\u2019t<\/em> let ourselves be overrun.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria\u2019s in charge. She\u2019s taking command in this moment and no one, including me is about to stop her. I can\u2019t see the map she\u2019s looking at, and she understands more of war than I do.<\/p>\n However, my input matters. I talk with Wiskeria as Beniar goes out to let his party know what they\u2019ll be doing. Prost is already organizing a barricade.<\/p>\n I can sense her glancing at me from time to time. After a while, she breaks off from asking me what the Goblins are using as weapons\u2014swords and spears, mainly with a few axes for good measure\u2014and speaks quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026wanted to apologize, your majesty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor what, exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor casting a spell on you. For not telling you about the Mossbear fur. For Odveig\u2026all of it. I know that if I were in any other kingdom, the punishment for any of these things might be my life. I can only beg for forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n I grimace.<\/p>\n \u201cI put you in a bad spot, Wiskeria. I\u2019m still angry about the Mossbear fur, but I understand that was a precaution.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. I was actually trying to drive it off before you did. I didn\u2019t understand why<\/em> it was so furious\u2014I suppose Odveig might have done something to it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, her actions are not your fault, Wiskeria.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut they are. She is\u2014was\u2014our team leader. Because she did all these things\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell you what, Wiskeria. We\u2019ll sort out blame after all of this. But if you fight and put your life on the line with all of us, I\u2019ll consider that a very strong endorsement of your innocence. Deal?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, your majesty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow tell me how likely it is you think we\u2019ll survive.\u201d<\/p>\n For a while she\u2019s silent. Wiskeria traces the map and I hear the rustle of paper.<\/p>\n \u201cTruly? We\u2019ve no [Strategist] or [Leader] and neither do they.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m an [Emperor].\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but\u2014I apologize, your majesty. However, you\u2019ve not said you have any direct combat skills. Without those, the battle remains as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see. You\u2019re correct. In that case\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have Durene. She might be as strong as a Hob, but she\u2019s never fought before. We outnumber the Goblins, but only with the villagers who are as yet inexperienced. And these Goblins are trained, deadly. It will come down to your people, sire. They would win no matter what the odds if they were without fear\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut they are afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. And they will die, and see their friends and family dying. They\u2019ll pay the cost in blood. And if they break and run\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe die.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria takes my hand for a moment. Her hands are cold and clammy. I squeeze her hand gently.<\/p>\n \u201cWell then, I suppose it\u2019s my job to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n I sense her smile weakly. We say little more. The village is alive with fear, with tension. But also, strangely, a bit of certainty. After so much waiting, the Goblins are finally coming. For all of us, there\u2019s some relief in that finality.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to die here. Wiskeria and I part ways after a while. I want to be with Durene for the hours before night, when we think they\u2019ll strike, and she has work to do.<\/p>\n \u201cEmperor Laken? May I ask you one question?\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria stops me before I go. I turn.<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n She hesitates.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve wanted to know this the entire time. You\u2014you\u2019re truly an [Emperor], aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. I am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn that case\u2026how did you become one? Were you born to it? Are you from some distant land?\u201d<\/p>\n I have to laugh softly.<\/p>\n \u201cI am from a distant land. One you\u2019ve never heard of, Wiskeria. But I was not born an [Emperor]. In fact, I only became one when I met Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? Then how\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI decided to be one. Because I knew I could be one. Because I\u2019d heard a story about an [Emperor] with no crown. An [Emperor] with no castle. An [Emperor] with a city to live in and not a penny to his name. Beloved by all.\u201d<\/p>\n With that, I leave her. I walk out the door and kiss Durene in the middle of the village. And night falls.<\/p>\n And the Goblins come.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This is the sound of the end. It\u2019s blowing horns, shouting in the woods, and wind howling through the trees. The wind has to howl. It\u2019s only fitting.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the sound of your own teeth chattering as you try to make a speech. It\u2019s the sound of a young man weeping and people around him shouting at the Goblins, roaring as if to drown out the guttural shrieks coming towards them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the sound of saying goodbye to your loved ones, holding a child\u2019s hand, lying, saying that all will be well. It\u2019s the sound of \u2018I love you\u2019, spoken a hundred ways to a hundred people.<\/p>\n It is the sound of Goblins.<\/p>\n They burst out of the woods around midnight. It\u2019s a terrible wait, knowing they\u2019re coming. When they do come, it\u2019s so quick I can barely shout before the alarm is raised.<\/p>\n But we\u2019re ready. The Goblins falter a second as they see the barricades made from overturned wagons and spikes driven diagonally into the ground. But on they come. A huge Hob is leading them, sword gleaming in the winter moonlight.<\/p>\n And the Goblins are everywhere. I know there are only forty of them, but they stream across the ground like one mass. I can only imagine what it\u2019s like to see<\/em> all of this and not sense it. I\u2019m standing at the back of the rows of villagers and I think I can hear Wiskeria\u2019s heart stop.<\/p>\n But she doesn\u2019t falter. As the Goblins approach she shouts and the villagers with bows and the Celestial Trackers loose quarrel after quarrel at the Goblins. They\u2019re answered with arrows from the Goblins\u2019 bows, and I hear villagers cry out around me.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the rear! More goblins!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n A shout goes up. I can sense the Hobgoblin\u2019s smile, but the trap he\u2019s set with his friend cuts both ways.\u00a0 I hear a wild war cry as Beniar and his Windfrozen Riders charge towards the Goblins trying to attack from behind. I pray for him.<\/p>\n And then the Goblins are here. I hear a voice like gravel shrieking and feel helpless. I have a woodcutter\u2019s axe with me, but I\u2019m to stay behind the fighting. Everyone insisted. Prost told me privately that he thinks the villagers will flee if I\u2019m killed or wounded.<\/p>\n So I wait. And I see it all.<\/p>\n The first group of Goblins doesn\u2019t charge onto the wooden spikes. That would be suicide. They hack at the sharpened points instead, cutting with their weapons and then surge through the gaps, climbing the barricades and fighting with the people jabbing spears and other weapons down at them.<\/p>\n \u201cCelestial Trackers! On me!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria screams and throws glowing blue fire at the nearest Goblins. She and the Celestial Trackers rush forwards. Some hang back, loosing arrows in point-blank archery duels with Goblins.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Riverfarm!\u201d<\/p>\n Prost leads the counterattack. He and the villagers keep formation, trying to hold the Goblins at bay. But retreating. The Goblins are expert warriors and they swarm and try to get around the villagers, some going as far as to try and climb the roofs of the houses and leap down on the villagers from above.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Laken!\u201d<\/p>\n I hear a different cry, and sense Durene. She\u2019s towering over the other Humans, and the Goblins are reluctant to go near her. She swings her club and they back up. Wiskeria is trading spells with a Goblin in the back wearing war paint\u2014a [Shaman]?<\/p>\n And then I see the huge, fat Goblin towering over the rest. Only it\u2019s not fat, is it? Hobgoblins like this one are round and made of muscle. And he is taller than anyone but Durene. Stronger, too.<\/p>\n The Hob is fighting across from Durene. He\u2019s smashing<\/em> the wooden barricades, sending villagers tumbling off it and opening a hole with pure brute strength. As I watch, he turns and cuts. One of the Celestial Trackers screams and falls, her hand severed at the wrist.<\/p>\n No.<\/em> I want to cry out, to rush forward, but the villagers are forming a solid mass between me and the Hobgoblin. I look around\u2014there\u2019s a platform the archers are meant to be using, only this one\u2019s lost its archer. I find a young woman on the ground behind it. Dead. There\u2019s an arrow in her throat.<\/p>\n No time to be sick. No time to cry. I stand on the platform. I can\u2019t use a bow. That\u2019s one of the things sight is essential for. But I can use my voice. So I shout.<\/p>\n \u201cI am Laken Godart, [Emperor] of Riverfarm! You are trespassing on my land! Leave or die!\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m shouting right at the Hobgoblin. I know he can hear me. He turns\u2014his eyes are glowing, although in my mind they have no color. I shout.<\/p>\n \u201cHalt!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n For a moment he does. Long enough for a villager to attack him with a pitchfork. But the moment of hesitation isn\u2019t enough for the young man to capitalize on it. The Hobgoblin twists his body and the tines of the pitchfork break on his armor. He slashes\u2014the young man falls.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, <\/strong>halt!<\/strong><\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n This time the Hobgoblin gives me a dismissive glance. My voice of command is useless on him. He turns and grins as the Goblins around him shout and drive the villagers back.<\/p>\n Helpless. I feel helpless. Wiskeria is shouting orders and Prost is fighting. Durene swings her mace and Goblins scatter around her. One is too slow. The blow breaks something in the Goblin and it\u2014she\u2014falls.<\/p>\n And I do nothing.<\/p>\n My voice is useless. The Goblins laugh and sneer at my attempts to stop them. I can only shout. My words\u2014<\/p>\n I see them falling. My villagers. They\u2019re being pushed back by the Goblins\u2019 relentless assaults. And their morale is weakening. Already three of the Trackers have fallen. Wiskeria screams as the [Shaman] hits her with a bolt of energy that scorches her shoulder black.<\/p>\n They are my people and I cannot help them. In this moment, I know it. I see a young man with a hoe cutting at a Goblin, and watch as it ducks beneath the blade, snarling, and stabs into his stomach.<\/p>\n His intestines come out. I see the Goblin duck away as he collapses. I know his name.<\/p>\n Calop, the name of a root. He is mine.<\/p>\n Mine. I pulled him from the ground. I saved his life. They can\u2019t take him. He is my subject.<\/p>\n But he fades. I see him sagging, see a young woman clinging to him, trying to pull him up and ward the same Goblin away. He grins and cuts her.<\/p>\n Her name is\u2014is Fulca. I offered her sanctuary. I told her she would be safe.<\/p>\n She falls too. Dying. They\u2019re all dying.<\/p>\n My mouth opens silently. You cannot have them. They are mine. My subjects. My people.<\/p>\n Mine.<\/em><\/p>\n I don\u2019t realize that I\u2019ve leapt off the archery tower. I\u2019m standing at the backs of the villagers now, shouting.<\/p>\n \u201cStand and fight! Don\u2019t retreat! Don\u2019t let them advance a single step!\u201d<\/p>\n They hear me. I can see villagers\u2019 heads turning, see them struggling harder. But they are mortal and frail. This is all they can do and spirit is\u2014a Goblin guts a young teenage girl, barely older than a child.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not enough. Now I\u2019m screaming at the Goblins, shouting as they laugh in my face.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are not worthy of standing on this land. You did not bleed for it. You have not died for it! The people of this village have lived and died here for generations! This is theirs. And mine!\u201d<\/p>\n I point at the Hob. He sees me now and throws a man aside as he cuts towards me.<\/p>\n \u201cI will burn your people to dust. I will hound them from the face of the earth! I swear to you, for every one of my subjects that falls I will take a hundred of your kind as vengeance! I will not let you take this ground!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s fury in my heart. Something bursting in my mind. I feel something ignite. The Hob is coming. I hear Durene\u2019s scream, Prost yelling.<\/p>\n \u201cKneel, Goblin.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n This time the Hob\u2019s knees buckle. He pauses and when he looks at me, it\u2019s no longer with a smile. He raises his longsword. I have the axe. I raise it.<\/p>\n Someone shoves me aside. The Hob\u2019s sword descends and cuts the young man who gets in the way. Gamel blinks at me as the longsword opens up his chest. I see bloody ribs, see his open mouth.<\/p>\n He falls. The Hob turns to me and Durene bellows a challenge. She roars, hurling villagers and Goblins aside and the Hob backs up.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t see her collide with the Hob. Gamel\u2019s on the ground. He\u2019s trying to tell me something. I tried?<\/em> Please\u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n I can\u2019t hear. I can sense the light leaving him as I try to grip his hand. Not him. I can\u2019t let him go. I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cStand up! Don\u2019t die! I said, stand up! Gamel!\u201d<\/p>\n He tries. But there\u2019s nothing left. He\u2019s given it all to me. All. His life fades and I see it flowing out of him. I reach for it. It\u2019s not enough. I want more. I demand more. He cannot die yet.<\/p>\n I will not allow it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cStop bleeding. Stop. Stop.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t work. Something in me speaks. I look into Gamel\u2019s heart. His soul.<\/p>\n \u201cStop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Something\u2014Gamel stares at me. The wound on his chest is gushing blood. It stains the ground. But now the blood stops. Gamel\u2019s body jerks. He stares at me. My voice is an echo. Distant. Loud like tempests, terrible. Alien. It rolls and breaks upon the ears of the living. A command.<\/p>\n \u201cStand up.\u201d<\/p>\n His legs move. Weakly. There\u2019s not enough strength in him. That\u2019s fine. I\u2019ll give him more. I rise.<\/p>\n \u201cStand up, Gamel. You swore to follow me on the graves of your parents. In ice and blood and loss. It is not time for you to die. I need you. Stand up!<\/em><\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n His body moves. Gamel rises, the sword in his hand gripped in a pale hand. I turn. There are Goblins fighting with the villagers. They stare at Gamel as he turns towards them, his chest opened, covered in his life\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n \u201cFight!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Gamel charges. Flames burst from his hand and sear one Goblin\u2019s chest. He hacks at another Goblin. They fall back, afraid.<\/p>\n The other villagers are fighting. They see Gamel and falter. But then they hear my voice.<\/p>\n \u201cFight, people of Riverfarm! Fight, folk of Windrest! Fight! You have sworn yourselves to me! Fight for your [Emperor]!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I command them. I command their very souls. The wounded rise. Exhausted arms move as if they were fresh. Limbs without strength grapple with their opponents and force them back. My voice is in their ears as the villagers form up, forcing the line of Goblins back. The words come out of me, out of some place in my soul.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Stand. I see your lives like flames on the sea. You are mine. The water will not touch you. The wind cannot quench your fire. So long as I live, your fates and mine burn together. I do not give you permission to die. So stand\u2014and show me nothing but victory.<\/em><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Goblins hesitate. They have never seen this. An old man with a rake charges them, hacking at faces. He blinds a Goblin with a strike, bites the sharpened points deep into another Goblin\u2019s back. Others stab him, mortal wounds to his chest and throat.<\/p>\n Breathless, he keeps swinging his rake. Heart stopped, he seizes a Goblin and tears at his throat. He keeps moving as he falls, keeps fighting. And he is one. Gamel fights past him, face contorted with rage. Prost runs through a Goblin and keeps running. The villagers charge<\/em> and the Goblins retreat.<\/p>\n Something roars. The Goblins turn and something charges them from behind. The [Shaman] casting spells at the dying witch stops laughing and sees a paw descend. The Mossbear smashes the Goblin flat and bites into a second. It roars, and bites the intruders. Called by a spell. Commanded by an [Emperor].<\/p>\n Two shapes fight amid the Goblins and Humans. Two giants. Durene and the Hobgoblin strike at each other, trading blows. He has a shield to go with his sword and moves with trained grace. She is slow. Her shield is crude, but it blocks his sword.<\/p>\n Yet she is wounded. He\u2019s cut her deeply on the side and along one breast. Now the Hob senses the tide turning. He snarls and swings his sword. Durene sees it coming on her club arm. She does not try to block.<\/p>\n She howls and swings her club. The sword bites deep into her arm, cutting through grey flesh and stopping on bone. The Hobgoblin raises his other arm, his shield. The club falls through the sky and nothing in this world can stop it.<\/p>\n The shield deforms. The arm breaks. The Hobgoblin\u2019s head implodes and it falls. Durene turns with his sword still buried in her left arm and roars.<\/p>\n She has forgotten who she is. I have forgotten who I am. A girl reaches out for fury and finds it in her desperation, in her rage.<\/p>\n The Goblins look at her and step back. She looms over them, bleeding, holding her club. They see the part of her the Humans fear. The part of her that has never come out before.<\/p>\n Troll.<\/em><\/p>\n Durene roars and swings her club. Two Goblins die. She hammers another one into the ground, dead the moment her weapon touches him. On the hill, an [Emperor] howls and his people rush forwards around the Troll, screaming, fearless.<\/p>\n The Goblins are warriors. Not heroes. They break and flee as they are overrun.<\/p>\n A screaming band of riders rushes out from the village, weapons and armor covered in blood. They charge the Goblins from the side, cutting down Goblins from behind.<\/p>\n Not one escapes. The last is crushed by a massive hand. Durene tears the Goblin\u2019s arm from his socket and hurls the body to the ground to stomp on it. In the sudden silence, every head turns.<\/p>\n Like magic, the villagers, the adventurers, and the half-Troll turn to look at a young man. He stands by himself, apart from the fighting. Something is looming in his shadow. He stands like a giant amid the dead, and for a moment his words are bolts of lightning, strings that death cannot cut.<\/p>\n Then it fades. He sags and villagers drop like stones. Laken Godart stares at his hands. They are not covered in blood. They are wet instead.<\/p>\n With tears.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s over. The Goblins are dead. But it is not over.<\/p>\n There are wounded to attend to. So many. So many dead. In truth, not that many\u2014<\/p>\n Not all. But more fall by the second, whether from exhaustion or mortal injuries, it\u2019s impossible to say. Prost carries people to beds, opens healing potion bottles with trembling hands. It\u2019s a race against time and some die despite his efforts.<\/p>\n And mine. I open bottles, hand them to people, pour the liquid over wounds and wait for them to close. Some don\u2019t. I\u2019m just one person in the village. One person among many that no one speaks to.<\/p>\n No one can look at me. No one speaks to me. I think they\u2019re afraid to. I can barely exist myself. I\u2014feel like I was another person for a while. I feel like another man\u2019s memories are in my head.<\/p>\n What did I say? Why did I say it? How could I\u2014<\/p>\n I stop and lean against the wall of a house. It\u2019s cold. I feel sick. I want to throw up, but I can\u2019t. I am their [Emperor]. I gave them the orders. No one else did. I ordered them to fight, and when they were dying, I told them to live.<\/p>\n Because I willed it.<\/p>\n And then I remember Gamel. I find him among the wounded, lying on a cot in the barn. I slow as I see him.<\/p>\n \u201cGamel?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEmperor?\u201d<\/p>\n He stares up at me. I can feel his hands shaking as they try to grip mine. The gaping wound in his stomach is gone. All healed. But the trauma and blood loss can\u2019t be healed so easily. He can\u2019t stand.<\/p>\n He is hovering at the edge of life and death. He was dead. He was meant to be dead. The wound\u2019s closed, but he can\u2019t be alive. Like the old man with the rake. He was still moving afterwards. But though the potion closed his injuries, he never opened his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cGamel. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014was happy to serve. You gave me strength.\u201d<\/p>\n Gamel struggles to talk. I can see something in his eyes, fading away again. I shake my head. Tears.<\/p>\n \u201cI shouldn\u2019t have. I took something from you. I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWanted to. Give. A ruler is more than a man.\u201d<\/p>\n I stare down at Gamel.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Yes. He is. But I am still sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a word. Just a question in his eyes. I sit by Gamel. The words come out of me slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cA ruler can afford to see nothing but pawns and tools or break his heart against his duties. But the mortal, human soul in him must cry out for every injustice he commits. Or he is no ruler, but a monster wearing the same skin. I am both. And I am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStill my [Emperor]. Saved us. I\u2019ll live.\u201d<\/p>\n I smile. My heart is twisting in my chest.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. You will live. Sleep now, Gamel. Sleep\u2014and rest while I can still let you.\u201d<\/p>\n He closes his eyes. I can\u2019t tell if he\u2019s dying or not. I put my hand on his chest and feel nothing.<\/p>\n I look around. The lines of bodies are long. But I sense many chests rising and falling.<\/p>\n Thirty one dead, forty six wounded. Of that number, eight had wounds that could not be healed with potions. A young man lost three fingers. A wife a leg. One of Beniar\u2019s riders lost an eye. Some should have died from the wounds they took.<\/p>\n But they lived. Because I commanded it. They lived when many should have died.<\/p>\n The Mossbear is gone. It left after eating some of the dead Goblins. I think it was wounded, but not deeply. Wiskeria summoned it from its cave.<\/p>\n A last resort. An emergency measure. That\u2019s why she wanted the fur.<\/p>\n These are all numbers I see. In my mind. But it doesn\u2019t change reality. I stare at the few people who are upright. Some are still holding their weapons. A shovel, a rake, a frying pan of all things. But they killed with them. The blood is still on some.<\/p>\n I have made warriors of these humble folk. I have turned farmers into killers and taught them what death is. Is there anyone who wouldn\u2019t be changed by such an experience? They have killed.<\/p>\n Goblins. They killed Goblins. But Goblins are too much like people. The people of Riverfarm and Windrest will remember this day for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n Prost finds me kneeling next to Gamel. He takes me away for a moment. When he speaks, it\u2019s a simple statement.<\/p>\n \u201cYou saved us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou saved yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n He shakes his head.<\/p>\n \u201cYou saved us.<\/em> I felt it. When you spoke\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI manipulated you. I took away your will. I forced you to\u2014I had no right. Surely you agree.\u201d<\/p>\n He shakes his head again. There\u2019s pain in Prost\u2019s eyes. His wife was the one who lost her leg. But his children are alive. I look into his eyes and see little gratitude. It hurts too much for that. But neither do I see anger or hatred, either.<\/p>\n \u201cNot for us to say, my Emperor. We are yours. We gave all we had to you for our lives, and that of our families. We are sworn to you. Servants, subjects to a ruler. If we wished for freedom, we could only but rebel and break our oaths. We would be damned for that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSome oath. What do you get, then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou, lord.\u201d<\/p>\n I look at Prost. He reaches out.<\/p>\n \u201cYou. We are yours and you are ours. So it is for every ruler and his people. They are his, or hers. And they belong to their people. One cannot live without the other. For better or worse, they are bound until one is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs it a Skill? Part of my class?\u201d<\/p>\n For the first time in a long while, I see Prost smile. He shakes his head.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not just part of classes and levels. It is the bond we have made. You gave us hope and purpose. You gave us life when the snow buried our home and our families. You pulled us out with your bare hands. How could we not give you everything we have in return?\u201d<\/p>\n He leaves me with that. I go back and find Wiskeria. She\u2019s sobbing over one of her friends. When she sees me she bows her head.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2014I heard you. I felt you. I\u2014I can\u2019t go back to Invrisil after this. I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n I kneel as she chokes on her words. She looks at me with tears in her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of me died here. Part of the Celestial Trackers. We\u2019re gone. We put too much of ourselves into that battle.\u201d<\/p>\n Of the Trackers, four out of twelve survived. Of the Windfrozen Riders, five. I look at Wiskeria. At her as she is, raw, grieving. It\u2019s not the time. But there\u2019s nothing else I can give her.<\/p>\n \u201cWiskeria, I\u2014I\u2019ve misjudged you. You and your group have given\u2014no. Wiskeria, listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n She looks at me.<\/p>\n \u201cBe my [General].\u201d<\/p>\n I say it softly. She blinks as if she can\u2019t understand. But she\u2019s smart.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? How?\u201d<\/p>\n I turn. So many wounded. So many hurt. A battle with no [Strategist] or [Leader]. I look back at her.<\/p>\n \u201cI have\u2026a certain number of positions I can give away as an [Emperor]. Not many positions of nobility; they\u2019re filled. But every ruler needs someone to direct their armies. I\u2019d like that person to be you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou lead the battle. You\u2019ve led a group. No one else can do it. Beniar is too reckless, but you\u2014you could do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m a [Witch]. I never dreamed of being a [General]. I can\u2019t just give up my class.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBe a [Witch], then. Be a [General], too. Be the first [Witch General] the world has ever seen. If that class exists, you\u2019ll have it. If not\u2014I\u2019ll make it for you. But be mine, Wiskeria.\u201d<\/p>\n I hold out my hand to her, in the barn full of grieving voices and death. There isn\u2019t anything else in the world but Wiskeria and me. She stares at my hand, at me.<\/p>\n \u201cTake my hand and walk with me until the world ends or we do.\u201d<\/p>\n Forever passes as we look at each other. There\u2019s still so much we don\u2019t know. But she knows enough of me and I know her. She takes my hand. And it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n I find Durene after the rest of it. She\u2019s crying, holding a friend. I hold her close and feel her shaking. We lie down for a second and hold each other. For a second of rest. Then she gets up to help the wounded again. My [Paladin]. I close my eyes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n [Emperor Level 15!]<\/p>\n [Skill \u2013 Empire: Art of the Builder Obtained!]<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n [Skill \u2013 Undying Loyalty Learned.]<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sleep calls. But I hear the voice and know. In my heart. It pulls me up. I stand.<\/p>\n [Undying Loyalty]. A word for what I did. A chance. Just one.<\/p>\n So I sit with Gamel throughout the night. He alone lives. The rest, those who I called back from the grave\u2014<\/p>\n Die.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Day 70<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Durene leveled too. That\u2019s the upshot of it. Wiskeria became a Level 4 [General] overnight\u2014Prost leveled. I don\u2019t think there was one person in the village who didn\u2019t level or gain a class, come to that.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no work to be done the next day. Just burying the dead and burning the Goblins. I feel like a ghost at times, so little do I speak. There\u2019s no need for an [Emperor] to order anything at this moment. I just need to be there so people can see me. To know I\u2019m there.<\/p>\n They still believe in me. They believe in a man who ordered them to fight and die. Because in doing so, I saved them. I cannot forgive myself, but there is nothing to forgive for them.<\/p>\n We are alive. I go on with that knowledge keeping me sane.<\/p>\n Durene and I sit together after the digging is done. The cold ground is rough, but she is tireless. Among her new Skills is [Lesser Endurance].<\/p>\n Now, in the quiet of mourning I finally tell her the truth. She sits cross-legged with me, feeding Frostwing and letting the bird nip her fingers. Frostwing flaps her wings and a feather floats down.<\/p>\n \u201cA [General], a [Steward], a [Paladin]\u2026all of these classes are rare. Special. Stronger than normal classes because they\u2019re more important, you could say. Or so my theory goes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s why you gave it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that wasn\u2019t my idea to begin with. That was\u2026luck.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. But it\u2019s better than other classes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBetter than [Warrior]? Yes, I think so. I think some classes are just designed that way, in whatever system this world works off of.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course not. But it has to be this way, Durene. How can a [General] be both a [Strategist], [Warrior], and [Leader] all at the same time? It\u2019s because he\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOr she.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you. Yes, or she\u2014must be all these things and arguably just as good as an expert in all three fields. There\u2019s a famous [Lord] in the north named Tyrion Veltras. Apparently he\u2019s not only able to manage a vast amount of his lands, but he\u2019s one of the leaders who commands the Human armies when they fight against the Drakes. To me, that sounds like he\u2019s got at least two classes\u2019 worth of Skills packed into one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. That\u2019s good, then. So you\u2019ll give more classes to other people?\u201d<\/p>\n I nod, staring at my hands. This is one of the things I can do for them. I owe them this.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to make Gamel my [Knight] if he wants me to. If not\u2014there are other classes I\u2019ve thought of. I have a few good suggestions, too. Wiskeria will offer the rank of [Captain] to Beniar to start with, and if I need to, I\u2019ll give him a higher rank. If he doesn\u2019t like that, I\u2019ll see if he wants to wear armor. If there\u2019s a [Cataphract] class, I\u2019d love to see if his [Riders] could obtain it by wearing armor.\u201d<\/p>\n Durene nods. She stares across the village, at the churned ground, still stained in places, where the fighting happened. She feels at her arm where the sword cut her.<\/p>\n \u201cSo how do you know all this, Laken? Claiming lands with markers, giving all these classes out\u2014did you think of it yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Actually, I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n I break off and look around. But no one\u2019s nearby to listen. Still, prompted by some hunch, I lean over to Durene. She obligingly bends her head down.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026was given this advice by someone. Let\u2019s call it some insider advice. Ah\u2026you don\u2019t know what I mean by that, do you, Durene?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy\u2026informant, let\u2019s call him, was rather strange. He seemed to know exactly how a lot of things would turn out and he knew a lot about my class. He admitted as much. So I\u2019ve used a lot of his suggestions\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike making Mister Prost a [Steward]? And turning Wiskeria into a [General]?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the trick with the totem poles\u2014I mean, markers. Yeah. It\u2019s a bit odd how<\/em> much was exactly like he said. I was wary about taking all the advice, but it was free, and there\u2019s a saying where I come from\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n I trail off for a second. Durene nudges me.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? What\u2019s the saying?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, \u2018don\u2019t look a gift horse in the mouth\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n She shifts and I hear her voice rumbling in confusion as we sit together.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you look one in the mouth? It could be dangerous. What if it was a Dresh Horse? You\u2019d be sorry for not checking, then!\u201d<\/p>\n I have to laugh at that. Trust Durene to come up with a practical answer to a silly folk saying.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s a Dresh\u2014never mind. I get it. And you\u2019re right. But I can\u2019t help but think someone\u2019s on our side out there. Or at least, we\u2019re getting help because it suits someone for the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, but when did you meet him? I never saw\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not around you all the time, Durene. In fact, I met him in Invrisil. While I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally? But\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell you all about it. Later. Hold on, someone\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n I stand up, suddenly worried. Someone is<\/em> coming. Someone on horseback. Odveig? Sacra?<\/p>\n It\u2019s not her. Instead, a man on horseback rides into the village, staring at the Goblin bodies and asking for me. He\u2019s escorted to me by the villagers, some of whom are holding weapons.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not worried. The man showed Prost his Runner\u2019s Seal. Some use horses. And he has something for me. The man clears his throat a few times and I hear him speak quite nervously as he half-bows in my direction.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a letter addressed to an\u2026[Emperor]? Emperor Laken of Riverfarm?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n I have no Runner\u2019s Seal, nor any way to prove who I am. Nevertheless, the City Runner doesn\u2019t hesitate for a moment to hand the letter over. It smells faintly of\u2026orchids? Perhaps. Something close to that, a delicate perfume. Durene\u2019s murmuring tells me the parchment is rich. There\u2019s no name on the letter, just a wax seal.<\/p>\n A letter to an [Emperor]. I break the wax seal and open the letter. It\u2019s short. I have to have Wiskeria read it out loud to me.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the esteemed [Emperor] Laken Godart of Riverfarm, I am humbly\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Looks like it\u2019s a greeting from a [Lady] Rie who lives in Invrisil. She greets me, invites me to her estate which is only a few miles away, offers me her congratulations\u2026I listen to Wiskeria read through the letter, barely able to process it at this time.<\/p>\n \u201cWell. She gave this letter to you, did she?\u201d<\/p>\n The City Runner coughs nervously.<\/p>\n \u201cHer manservant did, mil\u2014your majesty. However, this\u2014isn\u2019t the only letter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the first letter, ah, your majesty. I have three more.\u201d<\/p>\n He has three more letters, two from [Merchants] and one from a [Lord]. I hold them in my hands and sense the Runner fidget.<\/p>\n \u201cWould you like to send a return message? That service has been paid for by each sender.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll consider it. Please, stay for a while and allow me time to decide. Unless you\u2019re busy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo your majesty! My time has been paid for. I will wait wherever you please.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy [Steward] will find you a spot. And something hot. I will deliberate by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n I wander away from the City Runner and hear him asking what happened. I wonder what Prost will tell him. Myself, I step away from the village and sit on a rock, brushing the snow off of it.<\/p>\n So much has happened. And this is just the latest development. It\u2019s mind boggling. Insane.<\/p>\n \u201cStrange. I can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n I whisper the words out loud. I stare at the letters, sniff the perfume. Each one addressed to me. All coming at once. From [Lords] and [Ladies], no less.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all happening like he said. Exactly<\/em> like he said.\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what to think. My head is whirling, my heart still bleeds. I look back towards my village and raise my head to the sky. Here it is. My empire. My people have bought it in blood and I am bound to it now.<\/p>\n My lands. My people. My love. All things start here. I open the next letter with my thumb.<\/p>\n \u201cWell then. Let\u2019s begin.\u201d<\/p>\n After a second, I look around. I wander back into the village and raise my hand. Everyone looks at me.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, can someone read this to me?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Previous Chapter<\/a> Next Chapter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI can\u2019t believe it. It was Odveig\u2014I mean, Sacra, the entire time?\u201d \u201cYes, Durene. I didn\u2019t realize it until it was too late. Damnit, I feel like an idiot\u2014\u201d \u201cBut how? She didn\u2019t act like\u2014she was always so respectful and\u2014and not like a spy at all! I thought Wiskeria was odd when you said she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52856846,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"patreon-level":0,"patreon_level":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11693084,349],"tags":[7224,250708,4330244,4472517,11693079],"twi_volume":[11693133],"twi_collection":[],"class_list":["post-4141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-volume-4","category-writing","tag-fantasy","tag-inn","tag-web-novel","tag-web-serial","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n