It’s nice bein’ loved enough that yer friends are willin’ to put their necks on the line to rescue yer behind. Void knows that Zareb and the others have had to do that for me a few times.

  -Komdar Ironheart

  Aria looked up nervously at the airship that was meant to take her to the Boundary of the Realm. She watched as it continued to soar higher and higher, and hoped that the vessel wouldn’t be damaged by the Shadows.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder.

  “It’ll be fine, lass,” Zareb spoke to her. “The Shadows won’t risk damaging it. Not when they need it too.”

  “I’m still not sure it was a good idea to use the airship as the distraction,” she muttered.

  “It was the best choice,” Malachi spoke behind her. “One only made possible by Komdar. Who, by some miracle of the Maker, managed to get himself and his crew to be the ones tasked with its maintenance.”

  “Why didn’t we all just assault the mansion Galen was being kept in and rescue him by force? Considering we basically had the airship under our custody-”

  “That would have been too risky,” Zareb interrupted. “Then we’d have to fight all four Shadows at once. Plus whoever they might have in hiding. No, best we divide them up as best we can. Our condition for victory isn’t to defeat them, lass. It’s to rescue Galen and get you out of here on that airship.”

  “You know,” Malachi pointed out. “You could have gotten on that thing and been out of here by now if you’d chosen to leave Daxton’s rescue to us.”

  Aria knew that, but such a move left a bad taste in her mouth. “He saved my life twice over now. I have to return the favor.”

  “You elves and your pride,” Malachi chided. “Pride is one of, if not the most dangerous sins, you know. You best be careful.”

  She scowled at the bard, but said nothing in response to that.

  Perhaps she was being ridiculous, but her gut told her that she couldn’t just leave behind Galen. Something within her told her that she needed to be here to help. She didn’t know why, but her mother had told her in the past to trust her gut. So she chose to do so now.

  Zareb tensed next to Aria, drawing her attention.

  “Morpheus is on the move,” he noted.

  “Then I guess I’m up,” Malachi stood, walked by the two, and looked back to give them a half smile. “May the Maker protect and guide us all this day.”

  With that, the bard disappeared in a burst of speed.

  Aria was shocked by how fast the man moved. So much so that her jaw fell open.

  Zareb chuckled next to her. “Yes, that man is far more capable than he lets on, lass. I don’t even know his full strength. He should be able to fend off a Shadow just fine. Now, judging from the direction Morpheus was moving…”

  The general’s eyes traced the path the Shadow had moved from, and Aria saw his eyes sharpen with focus.

  “And there’s the other Shadow. Venus. Or as I know her, Callista. She’s mine, lass. You go and find Galen. And remember-”

  “Take him to the chosen rendezvous point, but if I’m unable to, then simply take him with me to the airship. Then… then take him with me to Vindanna,” she finished.

  The general nodded, and gave her a smile of reassurance. “As Arvad stated, so too will I. May the Maker protect and guide us all this day.”

  Zareb Aleksi Barus disappeared in his own burst of speed.

  Aria took a deep breath, and mentally prodded at Redian, who was strapped to her back. You ready?

  “I was born ready! Wait, I wasn’t born. I was made! I was MADE ready!”

  She smiled, then burned some of the Ether in her Capacity in a powerful burst. She moved as fast as she could in the direction Zareb had gone to. She had no hope of catching up to him, but in this situation, that was for the best. That meant the general would engage the Shadow woman long before she reached that area.

  As she sprinted through a downhill road, she heard a distant boom, followed by the annoyingly high pitched sounds of alarms.

  There’s the second distraction, she noted. Redian! Any sign of Galen?!

  “Nothing yet. I’ll let you know the instant I pick up on him!”

  She nodded, and increased her speed. Once the crowds of citizens began to cower and flee at the sound of the distant explosion and the alarms that followed, her movements began to get hindered a bit.

  She growled with frustration, wishing she’d had the ability to use the winds to fly as her mother had. She’d tried to work with Redian to recreate Anila’s Art that had allowed her to fly, but the sword had quickly shot down the idea. Flying as her mother had was something that needed A LOT of practice to do properly, let alone using in combat. The instincts provided to her by the Sentient Weapon wouldn’t help either, as none of them, being humes, had ever been able to use the Wind Affinity.

  If only there had been more time, maybe they could’ve found a way… Then she could simply fly over all the annoying humes getting in her-

  “I sense him!” Redian screamed in her mind.

  Aria slid to a stop. Where?!

  “Go left from here! Cut through the alleyways. It’ll be faster!” the Sentient Weapon advised.

  She did just as the sword commanded. She sharply turned left and ran through the thankfully less densely populated alleyways. As she ran, everything began to blur as she let the sword guide her to its other Wielder. Perhaps she wouldn’t need to use the Sentient Weapon herself-

  “Enemies ahead!” the sword warned. “They don’t seem to be Shadows, thankfully. They seem like the town’s guards… I think they have ear pieces.”

  What’s an ear piece? she asked.

  “They’re devices used for long distance communication. The Shadows have probably come out and revealed Galen is in town, and have likely ordered them to find and capture him.”

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  She nodded, and primed the Ether within her, mentally commanding Redian to do the same.

  As she turned the corner, she saw her first group of foes. It was a group of four guards, all dressed in the same clothing and armor that she and her mother had worn when they’d posed as hume guards back in Ignis.

  One of them turned and spotted her immediately. “A knife-ears! She’s armed!”

  That one and the other three all pulled out swords, with the one furthest in the back taking out a shield too.

  Aria reached behind her as she charged them and unsheathed Redian.

  The sword guided her movements, her body following the instincts engraved onto the Sentient Weapon by all its previous Wielders. Many of whom had a plethora of experience fighting while outnumbered.

  The fighting style and swordsmanship of the ashborn was different compared to what she’d been taught by her mother. So it was a rather odd sensation to move with skill far greater than what she herself possessed using a style she was far less familiar with personally.

  The first hume came at her. Aria simply sidestepped his swing and countered so fast that he didn’t even have time to finish his first attack before his head was separated from his shoulders.

  The remaining three hesitated at seeing one of their own decapitated so quickly and easily.

  Aria capitalized.

  She had Redian charging up an Art the moment the sword had alerted her to these foes. She unleashed it now, winds swirling around the Sentient Weapon’s blade. She slashed horizontally, making sure that all three were in range of her Wind Blade.

  The second guard, being the closest, suffered the worst damage. The Art, its efficiency and potency enhanced by Redian’s guidance, cut through his armor and sliced him into two at the waist.

  The third, not as close, still suffered lethal damage, as the blade of winds cut through his armor but failed to pierce all the way through, leaving the poor hume to be disemboweled instead, his intestines falling out of his cleaved open guts. He fell to the floor with a sickening, wet thud.

  The final one, being the furthest, suffered the least damage. He’d managed to react fast enough to bring his shield to his front and block her Art, and was sent sliding back hard enough for him to slam against the wall behind him.

  Aria, guided by enhanced instinct, didn’t waste a single second, and charged at that final guard.

  To her surprise, the hume didn’t panic. He carefully blocked her first sword strike, and immediately countered with a swing of his own sword.

  She sidestepped, and slashed again, only to be blocked the shield once more.

  The ashborn made a stab at her, but she jumped back, and carefully regarded her foe. He was clearly more skilled and experienced than the previous three, and he was fully on guard against her, now.

  She narrowed her eyes. I don’t have time for this-

  “Easy,” Redian chimed in her mind. “Galen’s still on my radar, and though you have me, you aren’t invincible. You should know. Your mother killed a plethora of Shadows. All of whom had both Sentient Weapons more advanced than I am AND Sentient Armor. So be careful. Last thing we need is for you to get mortally wounded.”

  She sighed, but nodded.

  The hume brandished his sword, and Aria sensed a build up of Ether. She clicked her tongue, and burned some Ether to enhance her sight, allowing her to visually see the power.

  Right as she did, her sharp hearing also heard the hume casting an Art. “Holy flames of Athanasius. Bless me with might to cut down my foes!”

  Aria tensed, then charged at the man, whilst commanding Redian. Start casting another Art.

  “Roger!”

  She slashed at the hume, hoping that by engaging her, she’d interrupted his casting.

  He simply blocked her attack along with the ones that followed, and continued casting. “May the flames of man coat my weapons and provide me with strength and defense!”

  Aria’s eyes widened slightly. He can use Concurrent Casting!

  The hume finished his Art. “Blazing Armament!”

  Flames burst to life, going from his arms coating both his sword and shield.

  The next slash Aria blocked had more force behind it than before.

  Her arms shook from the impact, and she noted how the flames seemed to try to reach towards her, as though alive. Thankfully, the attack had made her slide back, so she avoided being burned.

  She narrowed her eyes at the guard, and thought, You aren’t the only one who can use Concurrent Casting…

  “Stagnant winds, I command you. Heed my call and flow according to my will…”

  She heard the hume swear under his breath, as he charged at her.

  “Swirl and take with you that which gives life…” Aria continued as she shifted part of her focus to defense.

  She blocked, parried, ducked, and weaved in between attacks. Compared to Zareb and Lusha, and with Redian and the accumulated instincts of its previous Wielders enhancing her defensive abilities, this hume was absolutely nothing. She finished her Art without fail. “Aerial Void!”

  She hadn’t found an opening to gain some distance, so she took a risk and activated the Art, despite knowing that she’d be caught in the vacuum as well.

  The difference, however, was that she was prepared for the sudden deprivation of air.

  The ashborn was not.

  She watched as the man’s eyes bugged out underneath his helm, as he suddenly lost the ability to breathe. The flames coating his shield and sword suddenly went out, and he instinctively reached for his throat with his shield arm.

  Aria pounced on his moment of weakness, and stabbed at the man’s thigh. Her eyes widened when he’d managed to react in time to block her attack with his sword.

  She scowled, not having expected him to recover quickly enough to prevent a lethal attack.

  With Aerial Void still in effect, neither could breathe, and it was only a matter of time before one gave out. Aria could already feel her lungs burning with pain.

  She had an idea just then.

  The hume pushed her back with his shield, and as she moved back, she fell to one knee and dispelled Aerial Void. Both she and the hume took several, desperate gasps of air.

  “Pushed yourself… too far… I see,” the guard gasped with a smug look. “Stupid tree hugger!”

  He ran for her and raised his sword in the air. “Die!”

  Aria attacked.

  She unleashed the Wind Blade Redian had been charging, and used it to cut off the man’s arm at the elbow.

  His arm and sword, still in severed hand, went flying.

  The hume stumbled, then looked to his bleeding stump, and fell to his knees screaming, clutching at the point of severance, trying to stop the bleeding.

  Aria silenced him within a moment. As she reached him, she cut his throat with a passing slash.

  The hume fell to his face with a choking gurgle.

  Not wanting to take any chances, she moved back to his body and severed his head with a single strike.

  She looked to the other three guards she’d killed. The one she’d cut in half at the waist was dead from blood loss.

  She looked to the one whom she’d disemboweled, and saw him weakly trying to shove his guts back inside.

  Her eyes grew hard, as she marched up to him and ran her sword through the slit of his helm.

  Having finished off her foes, she wiped the blood off Redian’s blade with her forearm and bicep, and asked the sword. Do you still have Galen’s location?

  “Of course. But damn! You are merciless!” the sword commented.

  I know, was all she said in response.

  The Sentient Weapon made no further comment as it guided her to Galen.

  As she ran, she hoped that the others were okay. She could already hear the sounds of distant battle, and it almost reminded her of her mother’s battle with Arawn. Though these sounds and the shockwaves produced weren’t nearly as intense as those had been.

  Everyone, she thought, please be safe…

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