“Who are you to give me orders?” Herr Grindenbask asked with anger.

“I am the one who vanquished, little man.”

The superior intelligence of Herr Grindenbask let him understand immediately who he was talking to.

He put a knee to the ground, his long cape shrouding the immense marked slab on the ground. It showed the scripture of the last temple of the Firantes.

“Conqueror, I apologize! You were supposed to be dead!”

“I shall die only when Leïn’s betrayal is paid for.”

The grand explorer raised his head, staring at the Conqueror for the first time.

The man facing him was beautiful, tall, and well-built, but his expression was terrifying.

Herr Grindenbask could not stop a shiver from coursing his body as he witnessed the power of the greatest man in history of Men.

“Leïn? Do you speak of the Imperatrix Hyn? Did she betray you?!”

With no warning, the man in front of him exploded in demented anger.

“What!? Her! No, she will be the last I kill. I talk of the Firantes who still live, those who still taunt me. I have to kill them!”

The grand explorer, faced with the power surging from the supremist of God-Touched, had to flee.

He now knew the rumours had been true.

Even the greatest of them all had fallen in madness.

The adventures of Herr Grindenbask, Volume 12: Searching for Last Temple.

Trinne was out of her mind. Maybe Joanna’s death had stripped her of her common sense.

That is what Nay would have liked to believe. But she had sensed her friend’s Rreico, and albeit there was something else that had appeared a short instant, it was not madness. That all did not help Nay understand what she was doing there though.

The bar’s patrons were getting more courageous as time and drinks went by. Soon, they would convince themselves that her Virnyl uniform was fake, and they would rudely interrupt her drinking her glass of warm goatet milk.

Nay had never heard of this pub before, the Trepanator, who was much more welcoming than its name led to believe.

But this was her mission of the night.

She was to distract by acting silly.

The two apprentices had all necessary information to act against the Assini without waiting, and the Duke had to be aware of that, and so the Assini had to be as well. If Nay were being followed, which was the case, the people spying on her would not understand why she had come in this bar in the Borealis district in the middle of the night. Her every move would be reported the next morning to the Duke and the assassin group.

But for now, the more pressing matter was about the young men behind her, and if they were going to act on their desires or not. Nay could feel their trembling Rreico due to alcohol, and even without that, their intentions were written on their faces.

Even though they were young and with clear libidinous intent, they had not shown any hostility yet, through their Rreico or behaviour.

Not even whistling or shouting anything at a lone woman at this hour in this kind of place was quite unexpected and spoke of the respectability of the establishment.

Though she feared that it would quickly change if she refused their imminent advances.

“Unfulfilled desires are the open door to anger.” She remember that sentence from one of Sage Berth’s lessons, but not the name of the philosopher who had spoken it.

Before the situation could deteriorate, she decided to leave. That and her glass of goatet milk was finished; she had stayed here more than enough.

Trinne had had no qualms about sending her to the questionable and smelly bars of Lower Gite while she stayed comfortably in the Academy. Nay did not hold it against her. In truth, she was relieved to be the only one in Lower Gite. The Commandare’s mission had given them, Trinne and her, free passage to leave the Duke’s plateau, valid until the end of the allotted time of their mission.

They could not have taken the hidden northern lift anyway, as the linden tree had been destroyed in the typhoon.

Nay tried to get her leather and metal jacket’s collar to go closer to her neck, to no avail. Wind and rain promised an unpleasant way back.

But Nay was not going back to the plateau straight away tonight.

First, she would go see her parents.

It was an opportunity she could not miss, even if taking it meant playing the Commandare’s game. He knew she would feel indebted towards a gift like that.

She was starting to know the man.

To him, everything she had done, the illicit trip to Lower-Gite and Joanna’s death, was of no concern. The only problem was that she had used magic, or a miracle.

He had only blamed her about that.

Then, he had given to her a Mission. With an objective the Duke would never have agreed on, as Gite’s ruler was allied with the Assini. But when talking with the Duke, the Commandare would have presented his plan differently. He would have proposed a suicide-mission, one that Trinne and Nay could not even fathom to succeed. In other words, Redrick proposed a way to get rid of them. The Duke must have hurriedly accepted.

He did not think one second that Redrick believed them to be able to pull it off. That Redrick was using Trinne and her to obtain an authorisation the Commandare would have never gotten otherwise. That they were a tool he was using to get rid of old, growing weeds.

The sound of heavy rain rattling on her helmet was relaxing her. She was not worried about the men following her; Sky’s pouring tears had changed their mind. Their Rreico had gone away.

She would not need to break bones tonight.

She started thinking again. The Commandare was using her, but he was not hiding it. It was an exchange, if she did what he asked, he would reward her.

Like letting her work in Lower-Gite, where she would be allowed to meet her family.

She feared the man called Redrick Darkstar, but slowly, she was realizing that she also respected him.

He was just.

A monster still, but a just one.

The paradox annoyed her, but she knew it was true.

She may have known the roads and avenues through her precious lessons of the City’s topography with her teacher Barric, but the lack of light really impeded with her sense of direction. Usually, torches would have been lit up to light up the large alleyways, but after such heavy rain, typical of the end of Priyu, the meagre glass protection over the flames had not helped in keeping them dry and lit.

So, it was after more time that she wanted that Nay arrived in front of the little stone house. She could guess the walls of the school on her left. The sky had not gotten less cloudy, even if it were not raining anymore, and nor the moon nor the stars could pierce through the thickness of the clouds.

There was no light inside, and Nay second guessed herself. She did not really want to bother her family so late in the night. Her hand wavered, hovering over the sombre wooden door.

She did not need to knock, the door opened on its own. Behind it stood her father, wearing simple fabric clothing, looking tired, and holding a meagre candlestick with one hand.

“You’re so fidgety your Rreico woke me up. Your mother is getting dressed. Come in, have something to drink. I’m guessing you’re doing your Mission in Lower-Gite?” His voice was low as to not wake Lisana up.

Nay herself started whispering: “Yes.”

“Unusual to begin the Mission now, right?” He sighed, awaiting no answer. “What in Ja’s name goes through his head?”

After a year, the house’s interior had not visibly changed in any way.

Ra’fa joined them the second Nay sat down.

She stood immediately back up and ran to hug her mother.

“Nay?” Ra’fa exclaimed in stupor. “Is that you?”

Nay, realizing her mother had never seen her in her adult body, blushed and shamefully backed away.

Her mother did not let her, fiercely hugging her back. A bit too hard.

“Hnggg.” Nay exhaled.

“Oh Nay, you’re almost as tall as I am! Your bones must ache dreadfully. Marke, bring the candle, I want to check her face.”

“Erm…M’a? Can you let me breathe?”

“No no no. Do not play shy with me little lady. Well, big lady.” Ra’fa corrected.

Marke came closer, looking indifferent as to what was happening, and raised the sole light of the room to the two women’s height.

“Mhh, your face barely changed, still as cute.” Ra’fa noted.

“Hey!”

“Still, what a nice pair of…”

Marke coughed loudly.

“We need to go to the baths together! And buy you new clothes! With your new salary, we could arrange something nice!”

Nay, finally able to extricate herself from her mother’s steel grip, unclipped the pouch on her belt.

“About that, here, for Lisana.”

Her parents looked at her, confused. Marke took the pouch from her hands and looked inside.

“If I’m not mistaken, this is all of your salary, and more.” He commented.

“Yes, but I don’t need…” Nay began.

Ra’fa interrupted her. “There is no way we will take your gold. You worked hard to get it.”

“But I’d rather…”

“I don’t care.”

Nay recognised her mother’s tone. It made her smile; she had missed it more than she imagined. Still, she did not let herself be disconcerted.

“Mom, please. If Lisana can go on the Duke’s plateau one more year, I will be able to see her during my third year as well. I’m doing it for her and me.”

“It is our responsibility as parents to take care of that, and in no case yours to…”

It was Marke’s turn to interrupt. “Let’s compromise. We’ll take half, which is what we’re missing anyway, and the rest is for you. You can use it as you wish, but buying yourself clothes, to please your mother, would be a good idea. Or just to offer Lisana a gift.”

Ra’fa gave out an annoyed grunt for an answer, which meant she agreed with that, more or less.

“Sounds good to me.” Nay concluded.

“Now that this is done, talk to your mother, we’re seeing each other well enough, so I’m going back to sleep.”

Once her father was gone, Ra’fa looked at her daughter with a scornful eye.

Nay had a very bad feeling all of a sudden.

“I am so happy you are here. Manna told me you are hanging out at the Soi every week, care to explain? You better hope none of those coins come from there…”

Nay gave out an anxious laugh.

She left one hour later, feeling giddy. Ra’fa’s reprimands had been terrifying, but after explaining things to her, her mother had understood. Nay was not working at the Soi, only being taught by the courtesans, and Ra’fa approved of it. To learn to listen, to know each and everyone’s secret, there was nothing better than concubines and prostitutes, Ra’fa herself had taught her that.

She was quite saddened not seeing Lisana, but she had seen her sleep peacefully, and did not have the heart to wake her up.

Her father was waiting in the shadows of the empty street. She did not see him, but his Rreico was unmistakable.

“Nay. Do you know what is happening north?”

The question was weird, and Nay did not answer it immediately, trying to find some hidden meaning somewhere.

Finally, she just said no.

“You should read the billboards; I know there are some close to the Academy and Adienha’s library. Some important news are written there sometimes.”

“It speaks of the duke’s galas or the Imperatrix’s new sword…” She retorted.

“True. Not this time. Volatile reports talk of deserted villages south of the Canyon of Sables.”

“…and?” She still did not understand what his point was.

“When your friend died, did you use magic? More than usual I mean.”

The question was so out of nowhere, it took the young Legio by surprise.

She answered honestly.

“I…I think so. I don’t remember but…”

“That is all I wanted to know…Ra’fa and Lisana will go away on holidays close to the capital, don’t worry about it.”

Those words struck Nay with impending doom.

Her father was hiding parts of his Rreico.

“Dad?”

“In case you finished your Mission sooner than expected, could you keep some travelling clothes ready? We’ll be joining them.”

“Dad, my Mission is supposed to take months.”

“And still, you are in Lower-Gite right now. It is not unheard of from Redrick to give short, but difficult Mission to apprentices.”

Impressed with his deducing skills, she just nodded to his previous demand.

“I’ll keep some stuff ready. I’ll go back now. Are you sure everything is all right?” She asked.

“Yes, yes…and Nay?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t mind what I said about the northern villages.”

When Nay finally arrived in her room, one hour later, the sun was already rising. The sky took a magnificent dark blue colour, almost like the ocean.