An excerpt from 'A Treatise on the Pierian' By Unknown Author

The association of the Fourth Wave with the rise of Rigor, from the planet Fortitude, is widespread. This has been an advantage that the Pierian are more than willing to exploit. They are a subtle species, fixated on intrique and subterfuge. Obtaining accurate information on their culture and physiological makeup was difficult. I believe I was intentionally misled by agents of the Pierian on multiple occasions. My research has led me to a single conclusion: The Pierian are a power that should not be underestimated.

The four of us walk silently through the woods back to Everwall. A breeze playfully flows around the woods, twisting the leaves off of the branches to create a chaotic dance of falling colors. Flashes of browns and reds flutter, spin, and tumble in their inevitable descent towards the earth.

I find myself focusing on ephemeral beauty of the dance. The reason is obvious but I lose myself to thoughts of how short life is. Is there a purpose to our existence or are we just cosmic accidents that happened to be snatched up?

Stuck in this train of thought, my eyes follow a single leaf as it is ripped off its branch. I watch as it tumbles downward in the wind, ends spinning over each other in a futile attempt to slow its descent. It then latches onto the breeze and goes cascading high into the sky, rising above its peers. It stays up there for a few moments before it eventually starts falling again. Gently swaying with the breeze, it descends onto the ground and just becomes one of thousands of leaves already coating the forest floor.

Is that all we are? Just leaves cast into the wind with our fates decided by nothing more than random chance?

No. I refuse to believe that. There may not be an overall purpose to life but that doesn’t mean it is empty. A lack of a concrete purpose just means life is our blank canvas. We are the arbiters of our own fate. Our purpose is whatever we choose for ourselves and it has just as much, if not more, meaning than one delivered to us from above.

Trying to focus on the positive thoughts, ignoring the morose ones, I look up to see Alejandro and Hakim ahead of me, both of their eyes locked onto our path. Carmen is by my side and it’s obvious from her red eyes that she is going through her own struggles.

I slow down my pace, letting our two pathfinders get ahead, and Carmen unconsciously matches me, too lost in her own head to consider to the pace of walking. Each step is accentuated by the sharp crunch of fallen leaves and I set a slow tempo as the conductor of our stomping percussion.

Once Hakim and Alejandro are out of our vision, I reach up and gently place my hand on her shoulder. She jerks in surprise and then looks up at me, puffy red eyes and tear stains dominating her face.

“You okay?” I pose to her, trying to be as sympathetic as possible. I’m not exactly a paragon of emotional stability at the moment but I’m hoping that will lower her social walls so that she feels comfortable around me.

She sniffles and looks back down at the crushing leaves as we walk in step for a few seconds. Eventually she speaks and her voice cracks with emotion. “I crippled that man Cael … I ruined his life and … I only did it because I was so scared and just so angry.”

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. “I can’t count how many times I saw you or Alejandro or Hakim die. Each time we thought of something different I had to watch as one of us eventually died.”

She stops and looks up at me, tears cascading down her face as she begins to sob. “D-do you have any idea what that’s like? I had to w-watch my only friends get killed and I c-couldn’t do anything to stop it…”

Falling to her knees, she begins to cry and I run over to kneel beside her, wrapping her up in my arms. Letting her cry against me, I then break a promise I’d made to myself when I formed the team; I Search through Carmen’s mind.

Time loses meaning as I gather all of her memories relating to the battle, bundling them up and pulling them into my mind.

I steel myself as much as I can and then I absorb them, all of the information processed through my mind in seconds as I am forced to relive everything through Carmen’s perspective. I watch as Alejandro is beheaded, crushed, and stabbed, and as I’m ambushed, lose myself to bloodlust, and kill that boy again and again and again. The biggest grief comes from the memories around Hakim, however. A visceral anguish, an almost physical feeling, arises each time I watch Hakim killed by Nico’s dagger, Kat’s arrow, or, as was his most common way of dying, Craig’s hammer.

The processing of the memory’s ends only seconds after Carmen fell into me but I now understand the baggage she carries around with her. Her Skill is incredibly powerful but none of us had ever considered the emotional ramifications of being forced to watch as your friends are slaughtered. With her power comes a heavy burden. Even through a second-hand lens and the benefit of my immense Willpower, I find myself tearing up from the images.

I also never realized the depth of her feelings towards our team, especially Hakim. It’s obvious that she hadn’t even realized before this event but the emotions that I felt from her memories are crystalized within my mind, a piece of her experience that I’ll always hold within me.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s only because of you that we are all alive, okay? You were the reason we all survived, Carmen.” I whisper, holding her against me through the sobs and tears. This only brings out more crying but I hold onto her, refusing to let go until she’s stopped.

That’s what friends are for.

We join the other two after she finishes, finding them waiting for us only a few hundred feet away. Alejandro’s sympathetic look towards Carmen makes me realize he understands, at least as best he can, the intense emotional distress that she’s going through and will do whatever he can to help. Even if that is just giving her some space on a long hike home.

Hakim looks conflicted and it isn’t difficult to tell why. The kid idealizes me, which is something I need to try and fix in the future, but he also very clearly has feelings for Carmen, ones he probably has no idea are reciprocated. In the jealous eyes of a seventeen year old, I’m probably giving off signs of interest towards a friend that I’ve known since childhood. I’ll need to sit down with him when we get back and let him know there is no competition from me.

The four of us, united once more, begin our march back towards Everwall. It’s obvious that the cry did wonders for Carmen because she begins to make small talk after an hour. She’s clearly not over the tribulations of our battle, and probably won’t be for days or weeks to come, but her voice has a hint of her familiar sarcasm and ‘wit’.

We spend that night camping in a plan, the four of us surrounded by tall blades of grass and huddled around a small fire. The new night stars, glowing with a brightness not seen in centuries, draw our attention and we watch them sparkle under the whimsical flickering of the soft fire.

Hakim breaks the silent watch. Already within his bedroll like the rest of us, he rests his head on his hands and looks up above. “So what is it like out there? Is it worse than Earth?”

None of them turn to look at me, giving me privacy as I consider the question. Despite our months together during the training, none of them had seriously asked me about my experiences. In fact, Hakim and Carmen had seemed to avoid the topic altogether while Alejandro preferred not to say anything at all.

“I don’t know”, I confess. “I was only on one planet. I don’t really know what the universe is like from that single place.”

Carmen then speaks up, asking me, “But what do you think?”

“I … If I’m honest with you all, from what I’ve seen, I think it’s worse. The single person I met on Helldarvin was a psychopath obsessed with violence and I’m pretty sure he was influential on his planet. It’s hard to make assumptions based on a single place or person but I’ve seen how easy it is to become powerful if you’re willing to give up your morals. A universe that rewards those people with immense power … It strikes me as a dangerous place to be.”

Neither of them respond. I don’t look over to see their reactions but I imagine they are deep in thought. If they’re anything like me, they are imagining what their place is in this new world. Violence has become our reality and, while they’ve both gotten a good grip on that fact, they haven’t adjusted as well as I have, simply due to how long I spent fixating on that exact thing while on Helldarvin.

A deep and vibrating noise then breaks through all the worry. A simple, pure, and annoying sound that suggests one of our own has accepted his place within this world.

Alejandro snores.

The next two days of our return pass quickly. We’ve all become familiar with each other’s traveling habits and predict needs without the need for words. A heavy shirt from within my bag is thrown at Carmen each night for her to use as a makeshift pillow. Hakim runs laps around us using his Runes for an hour each day, managing to gain a few levels in his lower leveled Skills. Alejandro and I recognize the conversations that lead to a budding romance and separate ourselves from the other two whenever they occur.

Within what feels like no time at all, we reach the edges of the city’s boundaries and are once again greeted with a changed sight. A reinforced wall of wood encircles the city and the guards upon the ramparts are visible. A dozen guards return from some sort of venture, perhaps a patrol, and look as if they’ve survived a tough battle. Green clad hunters’ wave to us on their way out into the forest, bows or small knives hanging from their clothes.

It surprises me that, despite how little time I’ve spent in the actual city, it feels like home. A place that I’ve helped to build and improve. A place to call my own.

The four of us stroll through the new wooden gate and into the entrance way to the city. In a moronic but amusing display of his age, Hakim takes of his shirt just as we pass under the wall and a few of the guards stare at him in fascination. A few recognize him and come running up, falling into conversation and pulling him away to show them his new capabilities.

A little huff from Carmen makes me chuckle under my breath as I realize she’s probably upset by how quickly he was dragged away. There had even been a woman amongst his guard friends. Carmen doesn’t say anything as she goes storming away, probably towards the new home that she barely got to experience on our last return to Everwall. Say what you will about Hakim, I do not envy the man for what he will have to put up with.

Alejandro nods to me, motions to the metal, tells me to meet him the next day, and then wanders off towards his home near the docks. Setting up a group to go explore the possible vein of metal is one of the most important tasks for the city and I plan on bringing it up with my parents as soon as I see them.

Just then, as Alejandro walks away, a familiar ping appears in my vision and I stop to read the notification.

You have returned to Everwall and started the Trial of Change! Being a ruler is more than just brute strength and the ability to lead a team, it also entails making decisions and enforcing your will upon those whom you rule or lead.

You must choose one of the following ‘Changes’ for the City of Everwall to undertake in the Trial of Change within the next [Twenty-Four] Earth Hours. These changes must be accomplished within [Six] Earth Months.

Technology: The technology rank of Everwall is currently [.64]. Improve to [1.5] to succeed.

Skill: The average Skill level of Everwall is Lvl [4]. Improve to Lvl [30] to succeed.

Population: The population of Everwall is [21,723]. Improve to [80,000] to succeed.

Class: The percentage of the population of Everwall with a class is [.092%]. Improve to [10%] to succeed.

Well looks like I have more to discuss with my parents then I initially expected.