Just as it is difficult to get over your first love, it is likewise difficult to get over your first teammates, especially those from the higher difficulties. These are people who you fought to the end with, people who you bled to the bone with, people who you trusted with your backs when there was no one else looking out for you.

Wilfrid Pember - Historian- The Start of the Apocalypse

____

Silas gulped, his mind racing and drifting along previously disregarded avenues. All this time, he had imagined himself arrogantly striding into the fort and striking Nicon down, as simple as that. However, if the shaerd had a protector as strong as Floyd, then his plan became ridiculously foolhardy: sure, he still had a chance of beating Laerdya, but that was only one on one. If even one more opponent joined in on the fight, Silas would undoubtedly lose, and from what Clio had said, Laerdya had far more than a single person supporting her.

He breathed deeply and raised a hand to pause Clio. The shaerd’s mouth stopped running, and a crinkled line descended on her brow. “What is it?”

“How powerful is Laerdya?” he asked.

The dark blue shaerd’s face set and tightened. “Let me paint the picture with broad strokes first. As I was describing, the fort is the first obstacle but also the easiest passed as I can simply bring you in as a companion. While I have fallen somewhat out of favour, my status is still enough to avert questioning. Next, there are two hundred guards patrolling the fort: they would not dare start anything while we keep the peace, but the second we draw our weapons, they would swarm us like bulgen ants. Either way, we can make it to the throne room before their suspicions overcome their trust, and then we can likely hold that position for a minute or two before we are overwhelmed.”

Clio drummed her stubby fingers against a plain stone table, the dull sound reverberating through the room. “In the throne room, Laerdya stands with the most elite shaerd, in all ten of them. There is no cunning way to bypass them, and although I do not wish harm upon my kin, if that is the price I must pay to free Amara, then so be it. It is exactly past them that the hateful imp resides. Now to address your question, Laerdya is a force entirely upon herself: she would demolish me in a matter of seconds.”

“What of her abilities?” Silas asked. It was a given that someone on his quests list was powerful, but he needed to have an inkling of their class before he could think any further.

“I believe her class is Hulk,” said Clio, her voice gaining confidence as one of her companions across the room nodded. “Yes, and her abilities grant her immense prowess and vigour. It would not do you well to receive her attacks.”

Not too different from Floyd then, Silas figured. If he could, he would travel to New Derby and plead for help, hopefully returning with a formidable army. But he refused to leave Ethan here, and there was little chance of Ethan coming with him from the sounds of it. Of course, he could send Bandit with a letter, but that was unlikely to earn the trust required to borrow such a large host of warriors.

It was a similar thing with Riverside, especially as he no longer understood the situation there. From the Citizens list, it appeared all his friends had survived their recent tribulations, at least, but they were unlikely to come to his rescue when they too were struggling for survival. Even if they did, it was likely the ratkin would attack before they arrived and perhaps in force, destroying everything he had worked for. No, if Silas was to free his brother, he would move quickly and use Valrun’s Keep in its entirety, and the difficulty came in that there was little remaining that Nicon hadn’t already claimed for himself.

“Wait, you said Nicon has cast his sorcery on the humans as well. What exactly does his magic do?” Silas asked. Ethan had only acted strange when Silas had mentioned leaving the settlement, so perhaps all wasn’t lost just yet.

Sighing, Clio shook her head lightly. “I know of what you intend, but it is best you expel those thoughts at once. From what we know, Nicon applied a spell to the settlement itself, one which seeped into all its inhabitants with time. Naturally, we resisted its pull, but the humans and cracked were powerless to defy it: the spell has an insidious effect that I doubt any of them perceived, let alone opposed. For now, all it does is prevent them from leaving Valrun’s Keep, but we know for a fact that he can take complete control if necessary as he has done with Amara. Imagine if we arrive at the throne room and suddenly one of your fellows turns on you and stabs you in the back: it would not do for our success to include them.”

“But you came to me, a complete stranger,” Silas said, frowning.

“Although we had little time to make our assessment, we determined you to be powerful and to have sufficient reason to aid us. If anything, your lack of familiarity here is a boon as we can be confident that Nicon’s sorcery is yet to affect you,” Clio answered.

Silas grunted at the praise. “What about the other people who came with me? Surely they can help.”

“We can include them, but I doubt they will make too great a difference.”

“Every little helps,” Silas fired back, although he internally agreed with Clio’s assessment. Against such a steadfast and orderly enemy, Meera might be able to help somewhat but Olivia would be totally helpless. The Duellist worked his jaw as he reviewed his thoughts, eventually bringing up another point. “So far, you’ve made it sound like we can only attack Nicon in the throne room. Why not in his bedroom or any other room? Does he not eat and sleep, or is that something you shaerd don’t have to do?”

Clio dipped her head in admission. “Both, but he takes them privately. His chambers have been relocated to Amara’s, and he takes his food there as well. And her chambers lie beyond the throne room, facing a steep drop with anti-aerial weapons on its fortified balcony. You must understand that although Valrun’s Keep was until recently a holiday home, before that it was a fort on the frontline with defence as a top priority during its construction.”

Puffing his cheeks, Silas exhaled slowly but his tension didn’t subside. Considering everything he had heard, this was a hopeless situation where they had to use a dozen troops to break through two hundred plus. He had no idea how to proceed at all: before, during the Apocalypse, even when things had been difficult, at least the path itself had been clear. Now, all the possibilities sounded more like impossibilities, and he began to doubt that there was a solution in the first place. Or at least one that would come to him. He had never been the brains, simply the brawn: at New Derby, Floyd and Jane had done the thinking; at Riverside, Elise and Rolf had crafted their plans; in the tutorial, Aengus and Mia had made the calls.

Silas’s mind blanked for a brief moment, before his eyes widened and an unseemly grin took his face by storm. Of course, why hadn’t he thought of it earlier? He was with Mia here, the grand Elementalist. Out of all the mages he had met, she was still the most impressive and skilled by far, even if her current state left much to be desired. Magic was second nature to her, such that it was simply incomprehensible for her not to have noticed Nicon’s magic and taken appropriate countermeasures against it. Perhaps she had an idea on how to kill the imp as well.

“I need to speak to a human about this,” Silas said to Clio. “I can personally vouch for her.”

The shaerd frowned. “Your words make me imagine her as one who resides in Valrun’s Keep.”

The Duellist stared her in the eye, then lowered his head slightly. “That’s right, but I doubt Nicon’s sorcery has affected her. She’s an accomplished mage, so she would have noticed it before anyone else.”

Clio shook her head. “Regardless, it is too much of a risk for us to take.”

“We have no other way of succeeding,” Silas replied without missing a beat, his voice rising. “The odds are stacked so highly against us that we’ll have to take this risk and some more. Otherwise, I have no hope in whatever plan you have. Even then, from the fact you came looking for my help, I’m guessing your plan isn’t exactly concrete-built either.”

“I do not know of your concrete, but I admit our plan still has ways to go.” Clio’s eyes glazed out for a long moment, before she turned back to Silas. “Fine, if you personally vouch for this human, then we shall include her in our plans as well. However, before that, I need your word that you shall not attempt to restrain me if it turns out she too is tainted and I need to cut her down.” The dark blue shaerd voiced her chilling threat so calmly that it threw Silas off.

He opened his mouth once, twice, before closing it and deliberating on his answer. Even if he hadn’t known Mia for long, he still cared about her having survived the extreme tutorial together. He enjoyed having her around, and perhaps they could have enjoyed something more if the circumstances had been different: if he hadn’t been a homeless thief, and if the world hadn’t been brought down by the Apocalypse. Still, if he was to weigh her life against Ethan’s, his answer was clear, even if disquieting. “Alright, fine, fuck it. If she’s also under his control, we’ll…” He blinked and sucked in a shaky breath. “We’ll kill her.”

____

Sandip Mand, the Windwalker, was originally an internet scammer from India. He passed the extreme tutorial with Dolkar Letho, the Aeromancer, and Dewi Alatas, the Broken Shard. It is known that Dolkar had a profound effect on both Sandip and Dewi, causing them to give up on their past lives in order to strive for better futures. On Idroa, Sandip initially took to Jhargram and grew his influence there, particularly when he played an instrumental role in preventing Rahman Zillur’s, the Warlord’s, takeover bid. Rahman was hung, and Sandip was promoted to Jhargram’s council, however he left the town soon after.

This was because Dolkar sent out a global request for aid at his Palyul Monastery, and Sandip felt obliged to help the old monk as he had once helped him in the tutorial. Sandip arrived at the monastery amid a Ratkin attack and fought his way in, eventually finding Dolkar. The two joined forces and their powers synergised to dramatic effect, allowing them to turn the tide of battle and drive the Ratkin off the mountainside. After this, Sandip stayed in the monastery and helped rebuild the surrounding village…

Stefan Sommer - the Chronicler - Heroes and Villains of the First Age