Thankfully, the effect of Rajlen Torin’s mysterious attack did not last long. Mere seconds after the two ‘brothers’ had vanished from sight, Samuel felt his limbs stirring, and realized he was in control of his body once again. He clambered laboriously to his feet a second or two before Tobi, and dusted off his new blue robes. The white sleeves were now stained with dirt and blood, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that.

He cursed internally as he thought of the strange pair of enemies. He and Tobi had stood no chance against them. They’d been brushed aside like pieces of paper before a storm wind, he thought with a grimace. All that training and practice seemed like nothing in the face of such overwhelming skill and experience. To make matters worse, in his mind, he had no idea what the mage was actually capable of. They had only engaged with the warrior, who’d used what looked like a basic longsword and shield.

Tobi, for his part, looked less upset. He was clearly troubled that enemies had gotten away, but he wasn’t as distraught at their victory, merely thankful that they had survived it. He’d faced plenty of tough opponents before, men who gave his father a good challenge. Naturally, when he’d sparred against such men, he’d been hopelessly outmatched.

“What kind of family puts their surname first?” He mused aloud. “Not to mention, Rajlen sounds oddly familiar.”

His voice trailed off, but Samuel remembered the name too now. They had claimed to be brothers, but they couldn’t have looked more different. The mage had been a tall, pale man with flaming red hair, and the warrior a dark-skinned man with vibrant green eyes. His hair had been black, intricately braided back on his head, and ending in many different ponytails. He had a distinctly Welsik appearance.

“Tobi! Samuel!” Shigeru’s raised voice distracted them. The old warrior was running back to them, followed by the Issho-Ni warriors who maintained a guard position. “Who were those two men? What did they do to you?”

“They said they were Rajlen, father,” Tobi said. The youth had a sudden look of recognition on his face as he said this. “They took advantage of the chaos to slip into the city.”

“Ah,” Shigeru said, looking deeply puzzled. “The Rajlen family hasn’t been active here for many years. I wonder what they could possibly want within Milagre.”

“So you know who they are?” Samuel asked, staggering over, his legs still a little weak.

“I didn’t recognize those two,” Shigeru said. “But I’ve interacted with the family before. They are all very skilled in one style of combat or another, and draw their ranks from all over.”

“They are one of the three strongest families in Ahya,” Tobi added. “Nobody knows where they are based, nor what their objectives are.”

“I met one Rajlen many years ago,” Shigeru said with a thoughtful frown. “He appeared just after I’d formed Issho-Ni, and challenged me to a duel. It was the hardest fight of my life.”

“Even harder than Neratas or Hayakawa Takeshi?” Tobi asked. “That’s surprising.”

“Hayakawa?” Samuel asked. The name was vaguely familiar, though it took him a while to remember why. “Ah, that was the warlord who destroyed your home.”

The briefest flicker of dark pain crossed Shigeru’s face, but he pushed the feelings away. “Yes, he was even more skilled than Hayakawa. It’s wrong to compare the Rajlen clan to an Ancient such as Neratas, of course, but I’d be hard-pressed to think of a more challenging fight.”

“What did he want when you met him, father?” Tobi asked. “Did he want some secret in Gorteau?”

Shigeru shook his head slowly. “No. They wanted me removed from my position and influence. I never found out why, but Torin challenged me to a duel. If he had won, I would not be here today.”

“So you defeated him,” Samuel said with a slight nod. “I’m not surprised, to tell you the truth.”

Shigeru turned a half grin on him, shaking his head again. “I did not win. It was declared a draw, after six hours.”

Samuel’s eyes widened. “You fought for six hours straight against one of those monsters?”

“He was very skilled,” Shigeru said, his face lost in the memory. “He had the most unoriginal style of fighting. I’d never seen its like before or since. Rumor is that each member of the Rajlen clan is a master of their own unique style, with a legendary weapon to match their craft.”

Samuel pondered that in silence for a long while. The weapon that Taro had used against him and Tobi had appeared to be nothing more than a simple longsword and shield. The shield had been a little unusual, to be sure. It had been rather small, only a foot across and circular, leaving his hand free to strike as he’d done. But apart from that, there was nothing to distinguish him from any other warrior.

“We can only hope,” Shigeru continued. “That their plans within Milagre are not too nefarious. With any luck, they only intend to steal something. But there is nothing we can do to stop them now, unprepared as we are, and with no idea of their goal.”

It was mind-boggling that they would let enemies roam freely within the city, But then again, Samuel thought, there really wasn’t anything to suggest that they were up to no good. They might have been moving with the men who broke into the city, but they hadn’t actually raised a hand to fight until Tobi had tried to attack them. Technically, they’d done nothing but defend themselves. Technically, they were innocent in this strange situation.

“Well, let’s hope we don’t have to fight for real against them,” Samuel said after a while. “Our hands are full as it is, and we really can’t afford to tangle with enemies like that.”

“Well said, Samuel,” Tobi replied with a grin. “Now let’s find the Captain of the Guard, and see what-”

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a cry of pain from Shigeru. Whirling round, Samuel saw that an arrow had pierced him in the upper right arm, burrowing deep. The older warrior staggered under the impact and fell to one knee, his teeth gritted in pain. Another arrow flashed past Samuel’s ear, and missed Shigeru by centimeters, sparking against the warm cobbles.

The archer was on the top of the wall, providing a hail of arrows as his companions swarmed through the gap. He drew back another shaft and let it fly at Samuel, but the arrow was knocked away by the barrier that Samuel summoned with a swift gesture. Two more arrows, fired from yet two more archers, slammed into the barrier. They made it no closer, but Samuel felt small chunks of his mana burned away at the impacts. Much more of this, and he’d run out.

Three arrows slammed into his barrier in the time it took to think this, and, deciding on a course of action quickly, he gave Tobi a shove in the direction of his downed father. He dropped the mana barrier, ducking low, and grabbed hold of Shigeru’s uninjured arm. An arrow wizzed over his head as he moved, dragging the injured warrior into a side street.

“No, Samuel!” Shigeru shouted, yanking his arm free. Another arrow skittered off the building next to his head, but he didn’t flinch. “I cannot desert the people!”

Samuel spared half a glance for the people of Milagre, who were still within sight, some two hundred yards away. They were nearly to the Central District. Samuel frowned at the distance.

“They’ll have time to get away, Shigeru!” Samuel shouted back. “You need a healer. Don’t be stupid!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. It was almost perfect, he thought, that the universe would choose to contradict him at that exact moment. Just as he’d looked back to the citizens to assure himself that they were safely out of range, he saw three of them struck by arrows, falling to never move again.

Another cry escaped Shigeru, but this was far more bone-chilling and terrifying. It was not a cry of pain, nor of fear. It was a primal sound, one that echoed with unbelievable depths of rage. Samuel had only heard that sort of emotion from Shigeru once, when the warrior had thought that Grimr and Samuel were an inch from death in their fight against Neratas and his minions.

Samuel and Tobi were knocked aside as Shigeru rushed out of the alley, the long blade in his right hand. He leaped over the nearest pile of rubble with the power and grace of a leaping panther. Before he’d even landed, two of the invading rebels had been cleaved by the giant blade. There were more than a hundred men rushing through the gap, but Shigeru didn’t seem to care. He lowered his weapon, still yelling his enraged warcry, and charged.