The armada was ready.

As his men boarded the Foresight, Kairos took a moment to observe the rest of the fleet taking off for foreign lands. It was said that Helen’s face had launched a thousand ships, and Thessala’s riches had unleashed half as many.

Dispater, never to be outdone, had decided to leave first for the League alongside his [Demigod] bodyguard at the helm of his Filthy Lucre. Though he would later serve as his aide-de-camp, his son Tiberius had been allowed to make the trip with his new wife on the Rhadamanthe. Cass and her crew hadn’t yet set sails, as they intended to serve as their fleet’s rearguard.

“You know, only three years ago I was running errands in Thessala to secure mercenary work with Mithridates,” Cass said as she put on her helmet. With her fork and shield, she looked like Athena reborn. “Now I will lead a fleet to help destroy his kingdom. It’s amazing how fast things can change.”

“Do you regret how things turned out?” Kairos asked her, while Tiberius kept a hand on his sheathed gladius and tried to put on a brave front.

“No,” Cass replied before looking at her husband with a wide smile on her face. “Not at all.”

“Looking back, it all came down to Lord Sertorius’ capture by pirates,” Tiberius pointed out. “To imagine an event so minor would have had such far-reaching consequences.”

“It was Fate,” Kairos replied. He saw that too, now that Rhadamanthe had explained to him how [Legends] worked. People with the potential to become [Heroes] gravitated towards another, their individual destinies converging into a single direction. “Though we steered it in an uncommon direction.”

“You have grown wiser, Kairos,” Cass said with a chuckle. “Once you would have told me humans were the masters of their own world.”

“They are, but I am no longer blind to the forces pushing us forward in the background.” Nessus’ fate had been a rude enough awakening. “We choose to take or deny the opportunities the Fate System gives up. Our choices led us to Lyce when we could have easily joined Mithridates.”

“And we would have regretted it all the way to the end.” Cass patted Kairos on the back. “If you meet him, please give him the death he deserves.”

“I will send him your regards,” Kairos replied before gathering his breath. “Cass? Tiberius?”

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Tiberius asked with a frown.

Your marriage will end in tears, Kairos almost blurted out. But as he saw them stand side by side in matching armor, the king found that he didn’t have the strength to say it. He wanted them to enjoy what little time they had, or to make the Sphinx eat her prophecy.

“Good luck,” Kairos said lamely. “Make Fate lie and come back alive.”

“We shall, Your Majesty,” Tiberius replied with a military salute. Cassandra, who knew Kairos the best, observed him in silence before offering a small nod. “We will keep in touch through messengers and inform you of Zama’s movements.”

“Whatever your father says, do not engage,” Kairos warned them. “Zama hates us more than anyone else on the other side. He will do anything and cross any line if it brings him victory. Keep him locked in place, but do not give battle.”

“Your Majesty, I know,” Tiberius smiled. “I have studied Zama in depth and his Skills shine best when he leads an army in a straightforward battle. I believe we will go with a scorched earth strategy and guerilla tactics. It won’t defeat him, but it will disrupt his operations until we can secure other strongholds.”

“I will hold you to your promise, Tiberius.” Kairos had already led enough people to their deaths by fighting battles he couldn’t win. He hoped that his friends had learned the lesson from his mistakes.

Watching his closest allies sail away on the Rhadamanthe, Kairos glanced at Sertorius’ new war galley, the Tribunal. Unlike his counterpart Dispater, Sertorius led from the center and waited for Kairos to lead the fleet into open water. His wife was also onboard with the [Golden Fleece].

Was one of them a traitor? Kairos could rule out Sertorius considering he was the cult’s main target, but was his wife’s inability to bear him an heir a hint to something more sinister? But if she was in the cult’s pocket, why didn’t she poison her husband already? She would have had many chances to do so.

Who else then? Dispater himself? He had lost his sons and Lycaon had power over the souls of the murdered… could he have been tempted to deal with the Wolf-God to see them return? Was he leading the army to its doom out of malice rather than a relentless desire for glory?

Kairos considered the possibility before setting it aside. From what he had gathered, Lycaon needed to snatch souls first to revive them; and since Dispater’s sons had appeared at the wedding, then their spirits had passed on safely in the Underworld unlike Taulas. They were out of Lycaon’s reach. Besides, Kairos believed Dispater’s words about aiming for the [Demigod] Rank to raise the dead himself. His ally struck him as too smart to be tempted by Lycaon’s promises.

But then who else could the mole be? Ultor? It had to be someone from Lyce, since the cult had little to no sway among Travians. Unfortunately, half of Kairos’ army came from the Lycean Republic so the pool of suspects was large. If he started running internal investigations on his own troops, the Travian King might as well stay at home.

I will have to trust Aglaonice on this one, Kairos thought as he noticed Julia and Aurelia come to his side. And hope that the Sphinx can undo her own prophecies.

“It is always a heartache for a mother to watch her son go to war,” his mother Aurelia said as she dusted Kairos’ armor. “But by now, I am used to seeing you come back victorious. Please do not break that habit. Holding my husband’s shade only reminded me of how precious life is.”

“I will return a conqueror,” Kairos replied with amusement. “Please take care of the children in my absence. Aglaonice warned me of a threat against them.”

Aurelia’s lips pursed to reveal sharp fangs underneath. “Anyone who threatens my grandchild will lose their throat, Kairos.”

“Aglaonice has already proposed a plan to protect them,” Julia said. “Although for their security, I was asked not to reveal anything.”

“Not even to me?” Kairos asked with a frown. He knew Agloanice wouldn’t betray them after joining the [Térastheon], but she remained an eccentric and arrogant ally.

“Not even you, husband.” His wife lightly put a finger on his cheek. “I swear everything will be fine. Maybe we will visit you once it’s safe.”

That would wait until they established a foothold in Thessala. Kairos’ fleet would land at Boeotia, secure the western shores, and then push towards the shield city of Orthia itself in a lightning campaign if all went well. With luck, they could even surprise Mithridates and attack the Thalassocrator on the other side of the island.

Of course, Kairos wasn’t naive enough to believe everything would go according to plan, but that strategy was the optimistic option.

“I’m sorry my side of the family monopolized all your attention at the wedding,” Kairos apologized to his wife. “I know you wanted to ask Cassandra to summon Hephaestus’ shade for an answer on Harmonia’s necklace.”

Julia smiled ear to ear. “I would have been upset if your family hadn’t been so charming… and if I hadn’t asked Cassandra to give Thales and I a private [Nekyia] in the Necromanteion itself.”

Kairos raised an eyebrow in surprise. “And Hephaestus’ shadow answered?”

“He did.” Julia’s smile faltered.

“But you didn’t like the answers,” Kairos guessed, his wife’s silence confirming his suspicions. “Is it about Talos’ control rod or the necklace?”

“Both,” Julia admitted. “According to the consultation, there is no way to disable Mithridates’ control over Talos except by destroying the rod. Thales believes there is another way, but between us I doubt he is correct. As for the necklace…”

“Hephaestus didn’t know how to lift the curse he set.”

“He knew,” Julia replied to his surprise. “But I don’t want to go through with the suggested method. The cost is too great.”

Kairos frowned at her in confusion. “I thought you wanted immortality and to protect our children?” he asked her. “What could be more important than gaining a [Legend] and ascending to [Hero]?”

Julia locked eyes with him. “Would you sacrifice me for power?” she asked. “Or Andromache?”

“No,” Kairos said immediately. He had already set aside potential alliances for the sake of love. “Is that what the necklace needs? My death?”

“No, but something close.” Julia shook her head. “Perhaps the key is in the curse’s wording.”

“Curses are notoriously playful in their interpretation, much like Quests and prophecies,” Aurelia pointed out. “But I have yet to see a curse lifted by an act of kinslaying, my good daughter. If anything, such an act would only perpetuate it.”

Julia shrugged. “It is only a matter of time before I figure something out.”

Based on Kairos’ misadventure with the Argo, a curse could only be undone by symbolically correcting the transgression that led it to exist in the first place. Since the [Necklace of Harmonia] was meant to punish the bastard line of an unfaithful Aphrodite… did the curse demand the murder of an unfaithful lover?

Kairos did keep Andromache as a concubine, but he didn’t think it made him unfaithful; he had given the nymph an official status and never cheated on either her nor Julia. His wife’s own bedmate Caenis had never slept with another either as far as the king knew.

In any case, he trusted his wife to deal with her [Quest] on her own. “Thales will remain with the reserves until we secure a landing spot,” he warned Julia. “We will stay in touch through my [Idols] if he makes a breakthrough on the control rod problem.”

“I shall pray each twilight for news from you, husband,” Julia said before lightly kissing him on the lips. “The nymph will have you for herself for the moment… but not forever.”

Truthfully Kairos would rather have left Andromache at home until she gave birth, but at least she agreed to stay safe on Foresight after many arguments.

The Travian King could clear the path on his own.

Almost a lifetime ago, Kairos had raided the Orthian coast.

Back then, his fleet numbered only half a dozen ships and the Foresight was still bound to water. He had attacked a dozen villages for their riches, before sacking the port of Boeotia and abducting Prince Critias. The chain of events, orchestrated by King Mithridates, eventually led to the latter’s slow takeover of the Thessalan League.

No matter how Kairos looked at it, his life had come full circle.

Carried forward by powerful winds, his fleet crossed the Sunsea towards Orthia’s dominion; not to raid, but to conquer. The monstrous squadron sailed at the vanguard, with the Foresight flying with majesty at the formation’s center.

Kairos himself led the air force on Rook’s back. The Travian griffin corps followed after him like the wings of a great eagle, escorted by an enormous swarm of Stymphalian birds, winged manticores, giant insects, harpies, daemons, and the hundreds of flying monsters that had flocked to his banner.

After he had become a [Demigod], Kairos’ power over these creatures had only grown. They even picked up new recruits halfway through the journey.

I doubt any of them work for Mithridates, Kairos thought, since his [Leadership] Skill gave him a sixth sense about the new recruits’ potential. But the more creatures we bring, the greater the risk of discovery.

According to their spies, Orthian forces had fortified the coast since Kairos’ raids last year; certainly not enough to stop an invasion fleet as large as the current one, but they could make the landing difficult. They would raise the alarm the moment they saw the force appear on the horizon, and the Thalassocrator was lying in wait on the other side of the island alongside Mithridates himself.

It will all be a matter of speed, Kairos thought as he glanced at his ships. Agron led the vanguard with the Bridgeburner and would be the first to reach land, while Andromache commanded the Foresight as her lover’s second-in-command. Sertorius himself had control of the fleet in its entirety. Half of their ships were equipped with fire rods and magical weaponry, while the flyers carried poison bombs and fire barrels.

Would that be enough? Kairos had prepared as best as he could, but he had no idea what awaited him on the shore.

“I see land, Kairos,” Rook warned as the sun rose behind them.

The moment had come.

Orthia’s dominion appeared on the horizon, a vast expanse of land almost as large as Travia itself. The city of Boeotia, once a thriving shipping port, had been transformed into a fortress after Kairos put it to the torch. A dozen or so small forts of stone shielded the coast, while an iron chain protected the harbor. No large fleet laid in wait in the city, probably because Mithridates kept his forces on the other side of the island rather than leave them exposed to an attack from the open sea.

Kairos’ eyes wandered to the fort, his Skills detecting the presence of automatons and magical devices on each of them. These strange mechanisms included wood trunks covered in fiery runes and equipped with telescope lenses.

Giant fire rods.

Kairos had already fought replicas of his people’s own invention when he faced his rival Teuta in Vali, but he had never seen these variants. His [Magical Knack] Skill informed him that these tools were meant to attack over long-distances by using highly powerful fireballs. Unlike normal fire rods, they could only attack once each; but their projectiles could easily sink a ship before it even approached.

However, his Skills informed him that these devices were far less stable than smaller, safer rods. Under the right conditions, they could easily blow up in their users’ faces; conditions that Kairos knew how to replicate.

He had to act now. Even though the rising sun blinded them, it wouldn’t be long before the watchers noticed the approaching fleet.

“Men, we split!” Kairos ordered, his voice carrying across the skies. “The griffin corp flies with me to destroy the fort! The rest of the aerial force will destroy the city’s defenses before the fleet catches up!”

“Aye!” The griffin corp shouted as one behind his back.

“Remember, war to the fortresses and peace to the villages! We come as liberators!” Orthia’s society was built on the back of slaves, and coming off as liberators would only give the invaders more support. “Come with me and take this land!”

“For the shinies!” Rook shrieked.

His men erupted into roars, echoed by birds and monsters alike.

Activating his [Invisibility] Skill, Kairos shrouded the griffin corp under an illusory veil as they split off from the main force. As they moved unseen, the Travian King activated his spear’s new weather control abilities.

You summoned a [Heat Wave] weather condition.

[Fire] attacks will be strengthened and [Water] attacks weakened.

The Thessalans thought they could fight fire with fire?

Kairos would show them otherwise.

Carried by the wind, the invisible griffin rider and his allies flew towards the forts. The first one he reached was a strong, mighty keep protected by dozens of archers and automaton soldiers. The fire rods’ operators, a group of Orthian hoplites, looked at the sea while blissfully unaware of the danger ahead.

The heat increased as Kairos’ magic took effect, making the men sweat as a hot dry wind blew on their face. The Travian King himself remained unaffected as he had Rook move right above the fortress.

[Sun of War] activated. Your attacks will be imbued with [Light] and [Fire] damage, and a direct hit of your spear will incinerate the victim.

Kairos pointed his spear at the fort and unleashed a blast of wind.

As he did so, the power of his Skill caused his spear to glow like the sun. The wind that surged out of his weapon’s tip, enhanced by both the weather and his ability, turned into an all-consuming stream of flames.

The entire keep was swallowed by the solar flames in the blink of an eye.

The Orthian hoplites barely had the time to blink before the fire consumed them, boiling their flesh and turning their bones to dust. The stone walls melted while screams and shouts echoed between the various forts; bells sounded the alarm as the flames erupted in all directions.

“TRAVIA!” Kairos shouted as he dropped the invisibility effect, revealing dozens of griffin riders in front of the forts’ defenders. The Travian King’s roar shattered their morale, his scream of fury carrying a potent magic.

[Raider] activated! [Terror] spread through the army!

The mere sight of Kairos, combined with his enhanced [Charisma] and leadership Skills, spread fear through the army. A good half of the soldiers panicked, some fleeing the forts or freezing in fear. Only the automatons and local commanders held firm, but they couldn’t prevent the flames from spreading.

As Kairos’ fire touched the enormous fire rod the Thessalans had intended to use against the Travian fleet, they immediately detonated it. A mighty fireball swallowed the keep and shattered its stone walls, shredding every soldier in the vicinity.

Kairos himself had retreated back to a higher altitude, raining down flames left and right. The griffin corp followed in his wake with arrows and spears, quickly swarming the fire rods before the defenders could activate them.

The few who managed to do so had their own superweapons blowing up in their face, as the weather condition disrupted the magic. As Kairos predicted, the primitive devices simply couldn’t contain the blowback of the enhanced fire rods when empowered by the [Heat Wave].

On the horizon, his flying force had approached Boeotia and immediately dropped their payload on the fortress-city. Explosive barrels detonated like shining fireworks while clouds of poisons spread across the port. The fleet followed afterward, turning the horizon dark with its crushing numbers.

The Thessalan War had started with fire and smoke.