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14 __th_ Day of Nova_

128 __th_ I.E._

It was mid-day when the _Tide Runner_landed back in Rogust and Dane finally got back on dry land. He knew that he had to report to Digran immediately, but he wasn't looking forward to it at all. He contemplated having Surrel or Vedray deliver his report in his stead, but he didn't know whether his CO would look down on something like that or not. In the end, he resolved to deal with it himself, and after having his equipment returned to his room, he teleported himself to the hallway just outside Digran's office.

When he knocked on the door, Digran barked at him in response, "WHAT!?"

The harshness and volume of his tone surprised Dane, and he hadn't expected such a reaction to nothing more than a simple knock on the door. He took a second more to compose himself, then called out through the door. "Lieutenant Trueshot reporting in for debriefing sir. May I come in?"

"Fine, whatever."

Digran's forehead was coated in sweat, and his face was red. Judging by his appearance, Dane could only assume that something had gotten under the man's skin. He suppressed the meagre bit of joy he felt about seeing the gorilla of a CO in such a fury, not wanting to draw any ire towards himself.

"What do you have for me?" Digran asked, his civility sounding as forced as ever. He intertwined his fingers together and leaned forward on his elbows, in what Dane interpreted as a mock display of interest. The oaf didn't care what happened, he was just going through the motions that he had to do as a part of his station.

"The trip was uneventful, and we had no issues with commandeering space from the Northpine loggers," Dane explained, reciting the report he had practiced in his chambers on the ship, "The orcs were routed, with no survivors found by our scouts." He trailed off after that, afraid to broker the subject that he'd been dreading since he boarded the ship back to Rogust.

"Anything else?" Digran asked.

"It's a matter of Northern HQ sir, and the Colonel operating out of that base," Dane replied. He pulled out a piece of parchment from his belt pouch and handed it off to Digran. "This report details what I found there."

Digran only gave the report a short once-over before he burned it using a candle at the edge of his desk. The charred remains of the parchment fell to the desk before the candle was lifted up and the dust brushed aside.

"Sir?"

"What exactly did you honestly expect?" Digran asked. His hands rested on the desk as he tapped a finger rhythmically atop the oak surface. "So what if Nicoli is corrupt? I don't care and I'm not going to stick my neck out just to bring him to a child's justice."

"But he breached military law!" Dane pleaded.

"I don't care. Let the north handle the problem. I'm not lifting a single finger to deal with the matter." He glared at Dane from beneath his prominent brow. "As far as anyone is concerned, you received your supplies from Nicoli without problems and there was no altercation. Do you understand me?"

Dane clenched his fists and bit the inside of his lip hard enough to draw blood. It's tangy, metal taste assaulted his tongue. Slowly, he nodded his head.

"How many troops did we lose cleaning up Nicoli's mess anyways?"

"We only had three casualties, um..." Dane paused as he tried to recall the names of the other two people who had fallen during the assault. "Private Jillian Grossec, Private Howard Menning, and Corporal Aiden Philem."

Saying Aiden's name out loud was hard for Dane, and he could tell his voice was wavering as he spoke. He nearly choked on the words. It wasn't as if he hadn't accepted it, but speaking about his death out loud felt like he was admitting that Aiden was really gone.

"Huh, that tub of lard died? No surprises there. I didn't like him."

Dane's anger flashed to the surface in an instant and he spoke without even thinking. "You didn't even know Aiden!" He slammed his hands down on the desk and screamed in his face, "What gives you the right to talk down to people like that, you bastard?" Mana coalesced into his hands and his palms felt warm as the fire came to him.

He felt rather than saw the backhand that flashed up and struck him across the face. Dane could feel a thin line of blood roll down his chin from a cut in his lip caused by one of the rings on his commander's fingers.

"You_dare_to speak to a superior officer like that?" Digran bellowed as he stood up. "I should have you thrown in the stocks and lashed with a cat-o'-nine-tails for this insolence!" After a tense moment of staring Dane down, Digran sat back in his chair. "Sadly, such a punishment would be a waste of resources now that I've been given my new orders. How lucky for you, huh?"

Dane didn't respond. He had to will himself to dismiss the mana that he had unconsciously begun to gather, to make sure he didn't do something stupid like incinerate the man in his seat, tempting though it may be.

"We're being sent to Sanctuary, for a tour of duty over near Crystal Lake," the commander scowled as he spoke. "I have need of you still, unfortunately. We leave in a fortnight to relieve the current unit deployed there. And don't get any ideas in your head, this is no vacation. There's plenty of work to be done and a mess we have to clean up after the last batch of morons didn't do their jobs out there."

Because you do your job so_well,_Dane thought.

Sanctuary was the name of the city-state that lay on the coast of Crystal Lake, near the centre of the continent. Dane had read about it but had never been there. Sanctuary had been founded by members of the allied races of humans, elves, dwarves, and minotaur after the fall of the Orcish Empire. It was a huge trade metropolis that operated independently of any of its member nations and served as neutral land to resolve disputes between them. The Tribunal, a ruling body made up of one member from each race and a man named King Edward representing Sanctuary, ran the city and made decisions and trade agreements independent of the rest of the Freedom Coalition.

Though many of the civilians living in the city were expatriates, Sanctuary had no real military force to defend itself, and because of this the member nations were required to send troops to watch over Sanctuary and the surrounding villages that fell within its territory.

It was necessary to defend Sanctuary because it was a major source of imported goods that Rogust used on a daily basis and a source of income for the empire through exports. It was one of the last few major connections Rogust had with the rest of the Freedom Coalition, especially since Tran had fallen, which resulted in a deficit of trade with the Snowhoof Minotaur.

"You done standing there and gawking at me?" Digran asked caustically. "Get out! Report to the Sanctuary Waygate when you're summoned."

"The Waygate sir?" Dane asked. It was the first time he'd heard of it.

"The big construct behind the base, the one used to connect Rogust and Sanctuary through a portal. I thought you sorcerers knew everything?" he sneered. "If you're done with the stupid questions, get lost."

Dane left as ordered, fuming as he slammed the door behind him. He hated Digran and wanted to make him suffer for an eternity for the way he spoke of Aiden. The dead deserved to be treated better.

He's barely been gone for more than a week, damn it! Dane thought, hot tears burning his eyes as anger took over and replaced his grief. He grabbed onto his rage like a man drowning at sea grabs for a life-raft. He turned to look at the closed door and lifted a hand, pressing his fingers together as if he were about to snap them.

It would be so easy to destroy Digran. Mana began to gather around his hand in purple and white orbs that danced around his arm as he focused more and more energy into his spell. I could squash that man with nothing more than my fingers. It's all he deserves!

His hand shook and his fingers pressed together painfully until his skin turned white. He knew what would be waiting for him if he killed his CO. If he didn't get thrown in prison with a hefty jail time, he'd be hung for it. Even still, he could feel the mana surging through him and threatening to burn his body as he continued to consume more for his spell.

With a wordless scream of pure rage, Dane swung his hand out to the side and snapped his fingers. Thunder shook the base as a bolt of lightning careened down the hall, shattering a few windows as it struck the stone wall, leaving a dark impact mark. He swiped his hand at the air as he hurriedly spoke a cantrip and ripped open a portal before he stepped through it.

Dane reappeared outside atop the domed roof of the Ivory Tower at the Rogarian Academy of Arcane Sciences. He still had a great deal of mana left over from channelling. He tried to will it away, but he couldn't, and he shouted the words to a spell before pointing his palms up towards the sky and unleashed a great fireball that flew up and tore through the clouds, exploding somewhere high above the city.

Dane looked down at the academy below, remembering the time he'd spent there only a short year ago. Both he and Aiden had trained together at the R.A.A.S., but it wasn't until the end of their final year of studies that they finally admitted to the love they had for one another. As soon as their final tests were completed, they went right into the military. They never had a chance to fully explore the love they had for one another.

That was a regret Dane knew he would take with him to his grave. He never got to know a life with the man before he was taken from him. He had dreamed of a time where they could both live out the rest of their lives after their military service out in the woods. Perhaps work together to fix up his father's old cabin and live off the land there, while helping Tran get itself back on its feet. Just the two of them, working for the good of the people.

But the orcs had stolen that future from him, and when he thought of the red-skinned beings, his sadness turned to anger and he growled low, like an animal. His hands trembled as he strained to make a fist, and he slammed it into the roof of the tower, shattering a couple shingles and severely bruising his hand. If he ever saw another orc in his life time, he would not hesitate to kill them. Women, children, babies. They were all the same. They all had to die.

"Dane?" a voice asked from behind him. "Is something wrong?"

Dane's growling ceased when he looked back over his shoulder and saw the half-dwarf sorceress Talia Frostfire standing close to him. He hadn't even noticed her cast a portal spell. She had bright red hair that clashed with her royal blue robes. While she normally carried a staff with her, it was absent that day as she perched precariously on the roof behind Dane.

Talia had been his teacher during his years at the R.A.A.S. She'd been the one to recruit him when his magic first began to manifest, and to teach him his first matchstick spell. As a teacher, Talia had always been harsh with her students, not hesitating to enact discipline for unruly and lazy students. It was her diligence that made her a great teacher in Dane's mind.

Not wanting to look so pathetic in front of her, Dane wiped his eyes clean with the back of his arm. Though she was no longer his professor, she was still his elder and he wanted to behave properly around her.

"No, nothing's wrong." Dane stood up, and began to gather a bit more mana so he could leave. "Sorry to make a scene, I'll leave now. This isn't a place for me anymore. I'm not a student."

Talia stopped him with a firm grasp of his arm. "Dane, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing," he said, his voice higher this time.

"I haven't seen you in almost a year, and when you show up you blast a hole in the clouds. It's not nothing."

Dane bit at the inside of his lip. He'd never gotten good at lying to other people. "I'd hate to interrupt the work of one of the Five. I'm sure you must have a lecture or some other business to attend to that's more important than the temper tantrums of a child."

"I'm not busy at the moment. I have an illusion of myself teaching a class on proper scribing. This batch of first years are so brain dead, they can't scribe a spell to save their lives! I can't believe it takes two of me to get it into their skulls." Talia continued to rant, and her old bitter self showing through provided Dane with an odd sort of comfort. "I absolutely dread having to go over rune-carving with them. We should just shackle them so they can't use their magic and be done with it."

He wasn't sure how to begin talking to her, but he figured maybe being blunt would be the best and quickest way to deal with it. There was no sense in beating around the bush, Dane figured.

"Aiden's dead." He whispered.

"What?" She asked, and Dane repeated himself, this time louder. "No, no, I heard you. I'm just shocked, that's all. How did one of my best students die so quickly out of the Academy?"

"It was my fault. I couldn't save him in time and that's why-" Talia smacked Dane in the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Dane Trueshot! You know better than to wallow in your own depression and act like it's your fault. You know full well it's never your fault unless you had some hand in it," she rebuked him. "Now, spit it out. What happened?"

Dane told her about everything, about the mission to go up to Northpine, about how he'd been put in charge of the expedition, about what happened in Tran and everything leading up to the battle. He included every bloody detail with a level of clarity that frightened even himself as he could remember the face of every orc he felled, of the fires that raged around him, and of Aiden's expression as his life was stolen from him. He pulled out the ring that had once been his lover's, and looked at the smooth, polished metal that was now devoid of the blood that had marred its surface. He even confessed his love for Aiden to her, but she assured him that she already knew by the way they looked at each other in their final year.

By the end of his tale, tears were once again lining Dane's eyes. He hated himself for being so weak. He didn't grieve like this for his father when he died, and yet he'd been almost comatose for the better part of the last two weeks since Aiden was killed.

"Those red-skins took everything from me," he said, finally finishing his tale. "I'd been so careless, I should've watched him better and been more careful while we were in enemy territory."

"I know how important Aiden was to you. He was a good lad, that one." Talia put a comforting hand on his shoulder as he sat there, staring wistfully at the sky. "Is there anything I can do?"

There was a lot Dane wished he could ask of her. "Nothing you can physically do," he admitted. "I want you to bring him back, or to turn back time so I can save his life, or to destroy the orcish race, and wipe them off the face of Galria!" He paused and his voice became so quiet Talia strained to hear his next works. "But there's nothing more you or anyone else can do for me. You've done more than enough to help. Thank you."

He turned back to look out at the ocean. The waves were small that day as a gentle breeze kissed the water's surface. The sky had few clouds in it, and it allowed the ocean to shine like a flawless blue sapphire as it caught the sun's light.

"He loved the ocean, and hoped to one day be able to sail out to see new lands," Dane said wistfully. "It was one of his favourite things, and I think that's why he studied water magic with Professor Sylenthros so much." He sighed. "It's all my fault..." Dane said again.

"No, it's not." Talia corrected, her voice firm. She wasn't scolding him, but she wanted to make sure he understood that he was not to blame for anything that happened. "Things like this just happen. It's a fact of life, that's just how things are. We cannot change the flow of time anymore than we can change the fact that, eventually, we will all die one way or another. You need to get used to that fact as a soldier. Sometimes friends die. That's the life you've chosen."

"But you don't understand!" Dane pleaded with her, "It was because I forced everyone on that foolish hunt, and that I left my own unit so undermanned that it was only an inevitability before the orcs attacked and killed us."

Talia openly slapped Dane across the face. "I'm not in the mood for your self-serving pity parties, Dane." Her features softened afterwards as she looked at him sadly. "I would say the same thing to anyone else. Acting like this is doing you no good."

Dane could feel the side of his face throbbing from where Talia had struck him, and he hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry. It's just that... it wasn't his time to go..."

"I agree with you, but that doesn't change the fact that Aiden did leave this world. There's nothing we can do about that now except move on." She stepped forward and gave Dane a hug in an unusual display of affection that he'd never seen from the woman before. "It's okay to let it out. There's no sense in bottling everything up."

"No, I'm fine. I'm tired of crying. I don't want to be weak anymore." There was a short silence between them before he said, "Professor Frostfire?"

"It's Talia, Dane. You know my first name," she said softly.

"There's one thing you can do for me."

"Anything."

"Give me the location of Aiden's family's farm."

* * * * *

The next day, Dane ate a hearty breakfast, easily a meal for two people. He hadn't realized how hungry he had been after not eating for days. He knew he'd need the food to keep his strength up. After all, he'd never teleported more than a league or two at a time. Going to the fringe of Rogarian territory was going to be incredibly taxing.

Slipping out of the base before the sun rose, Dane left the city in a hurry. It would be a few days before his next assignment, and they wouldn't be leaving for Sanctuary for a few weeks, so no one would mind if he was gone for the day. He pulled out a rolled up piece of paper and unfurled it. It was a map given to him by Talia that marked the general location where Aiden had lived prior to coming to the R.A.A.S. She didn't know the exact spot where the farm was, but she did mark a small town called Chestersfield in the Kelial Plains that was west of it. Dane was afraid he wouldn't make the journey in a single jump, and instead broke his trip into several smaller teleportations across the plains, resting between each one.

When Dane finally made it to Chestersfield, he was surprised by what he found. He'd been expecting a small village with a trading post, but when he appeared on the town's outskirts, he saw that it was so very much like Tran. The homes were arranged in a grid formation along the plains, and grew nicer the further they were from the town center.

The center was where the farmer's market was, and by the looks of it, it seemed like every farmer in the area inevitably came here to sell their goods and make their living. The small town was abuzz with energy as people moved along the dirt roads.

Dane had to wonder if this was how Tran had looked when he was a child, before the orcs attacked. It had a pleasant atmosphere that reminded him of the home he'd left behind. He began to wonder if Aiden might have seen the same thing in Tran when he was there, if he saw what Chestersfield would look like if it had been destroyed.

There was a small creek flowing southward before Dane reached the town, and rather than making a detour to the main road, he decided to just jump the stream of water. He landed softly on the ground, the heels of his boots splashing at the water's edge. After he crawled up the small slope into the town proper, he began to question the locals about where the Philem farm was.

It took some time to find someone who would talk to an outsider like him, but soon enough he found a kindly old man who was willing to mark the farm's location on the map. After bidding the man farewell and paying him a gold piece, easily half a year's earning for a farmer, Dane disappeared in another portal in the direction that the man had specified.

When Dane reappeared, he was standing in the middle of a barren field. The soil hadn't been tilled and by the lack of sounds, there weren't any farm animals to speak of.

What's going on here? Aiden always said that his brother looked after the farm when their father passed.

Dane hurried over to the wooden farmhouse across the field and rapped on the door. There was no answer, and he began to wonder if he even had the right house. He'd have thought that there would at least have been some signs of life here, even if he was at the wrong farm.

He was about to knock on the door again when the lock turned and it creaked open slightly, with a crack small enough for someone to peak through.

"Who are you?" said a woman on the other side of the door. She was obscured from view, save for her fierce hazel eyes. "What do you want?"

Clearing his throat, Dane said, "Ma'am, I'm with the Rogarian Military. I wanted to talk to you about your son."

He could see her scowl through the crack in the door. "What did Seth do this time?"

"This isn't about Seth. It's about your other son, Aiden."

There was a long pause. The door shut and Dane could hear a bolt being slid unlocked before it opened entirely. Before him stood a short old woman with graying hair tied up in a bun. She wore a dirtied apron that was covered in hand prints from flour. There were dark bags under her eyes, and Dane figured she must not have been sleeping much considering it looked as if she had to run the entire farm all by herself. When he met her eyes, he realized how much they looked like Aiden's. Not in color, but in the spark of life he saw in them.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Dane Trueshot. I'm a friend of Aiden's," Dane replied. "We had trained together at the mage academy in Rogust, and worked together in the same unit for the past year. Had you heard about the Mullead Incident?"

"A few snippets, here and there, but not much I'm afraid."

"Well, suffice to say that was our first mission together. Aiden's gifts were integral to bringing order to the Kelmore province."

The little woman's lips stretched into a thin smile. She wiped her hands off on her apron and held it out for Dane. "I'm Grace, Aiden's mother." The two of them shook hands and she said after a heavy sigh, "Though it's good to hear my son has done some good in this world, I can tell by your choice of words that you have some bad news to deliver. Come inside and I'll brew us a pot of tea."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Dane stepped into the house as Grace scurried off to the kitchen. He could hear the clink and clatter of a few dishes as he took in the small house. There wasn't much in the way of luxuries, but it looked cozy enough. The drawing room was adjacent to the front door and across from the kitchen. There were a few chairs set up around the fireplace.

A bouquet of flowers sat atop the mantle in a small vase, and there was a set of military tags sitting in front of them. Dane moved over to inspect them and read the name on the back of them.

Captain Hugh S. Philem

Warmage, First Class

13 __th_ Squadron, International Division_

Dane tried to recall anything Aiden had said about his father but aside from what he'd told him when they were in Tran, he didn't know a thing about the man. He began to wonder how much Aiden had even known his father.

He never mentioned Hugh being the top of his class. I guess his gifts runs in the family.

Footsteps could be heard approaching the room and he turned to regard Grace as she carried in a small tray with two steaming cups of tea and a little bowl of sugar cubes. She set them down on a table that sat between the chairs.

"Do you take sugar with your tea, Mr. Trueshot?"

"No thank you," Dane said and he sat down on the chair.

"Suit yourself," she replied, dropping several cubes into her tea and stirring it with a spoon. She sat across from Dane and said, "So how did it happen?"

"Not wasting any time?" Dane asked.

"No. I've had enough military folk visiting my home that it's never anything good. And since you mentioned Aiden, I can only assume something's happened to him." She sipped at her cup.

Taking a second to compose himself, Dane said. "An orc was the one to do him in during an operation." Images of that night replayed in his mind, but he did his best to keep his emotions in control, if only for Grace's sake.

There was only a slight pause in Grace's movements as she set her cup back down. "I've been waiting for this news ever since I got the letter from Aiden saying he was going to join the military, just like his father did. Stupid, foolish boy. I would never tell him no, but I knew he was heading towards disaster." She shook her head and wiped some tears away with the back of her thin hands. "Why were there orcs in Rogarian borders?"

Dane told her about all the events that led up to Aiden's death, save for two details; the man who was in charge, and why they had been caught with so few numbers. Deep down he knew it was wrong to do it but he also couldn't bear to face Grace's anger if she learned it was his fault Aiden had died.

When Dane's tale was finished, both their cups were empty and the sun was crawling down towards the horizon. A number of thick thunderheads in the distance and the rumble of thunder promised that a storm was on its way.

"The man in charge sounds like an idiot. Chasing after orcs in the dark," Grace spat. "They should've known that the orcs can see better at night than us."

"I agree with you. I don't respect the man either," Dane replied. He dug into his belt pouch and produced Aiden's military tags. "I wanted to bring these to you personally, and to tell you the news before the rest of your son's belongings arrive. I've... personally prepared to have his body delivered so that he may be buried on the farm. I felt as if it was the least I could do for a very dear friend."

Grace took the tags and looked at them. As she did, Dane could see tears brimming along her eyes.

"I appreciate you bringing this to me, and telling me about Aiden's final moments. He was lucky to have a friend like you by his side."

"I appreciate that, ma'am," Dane said, but in his mind he was cursing at himself, both for his lack of courage to tell Grace the truth, and in his lack of strength for being able to protect his partner.

Rising to his feet, Dane added, "I'm really sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. I appreciate the tea."

Dane bid her farewell and left the farmhouse. As he closed the door he could hear Gracia break down inside, her wracking sobs echoing through the door. The sound tore Dane apart from the inside out. With a curse, he opened a portal as far away as he could manage, and began the long trek back to Rogust.