It happened while Rigel and his comrades were resting from their nighttime ordeal. Thick, grey clouds gradually moved in from the edge of the horizon and covered the sky. Although morning had already come, the sun was nowhere to be seen because of the approaching storm. The rumbling sound of thunder became more and more prominent until it was loud enough to wake a man from his sleep. Air humidity increased and strong winds gave a sign of what was to come.

"It's going to rain, isn't it?"

"Yes... and it looks like a thunderstorm, a big one."

Inaya and Gamonias gaze at the darkened skies with some concern. Rainfall is rarely good news for a soldier at war. They cannot afford to run and hide in some shelter until it ends. A lot depends on their effort to stall Nestor Hadwin's army. They must grit their teeth and endure it as armor and clothes become soaked, cold and heavy. Discomfort aside, the battle itself can be heavily influenced by bad weather. Equipment will rust, gunpowder will refuse to ignite, the ground gets muddy and slippery. Such an environment is bad both for heavily armored soldiers and for nimble ones.

"Some of our members are going to have a hard time if it starts pouring hard, especially the mages. We could lose a third of our offensive power. Should we change plans? What's the captain going to do?"

Inaya asks for Gamo's opinion since he is one of the oldest members and understands Henin Asher's thoughts better than anyone thanks to many years of working together.

"The enemy will suffer the same as us."

"Maybe, but with our numbers we can't get any advantage."

"We don't need an advantage, we just need to stall."

"What about our newest member? Can Rigel hold his own without fire and lightning magic?"

These two elements are the preferred form of offensive spellcasting. What Inaya is referring to is the fact that some environments take a huge toll on spellcasting. Heavy rain in particular can make fire and lightning spells ineffective and outright dangerous to attempt. Dark, arcane and earth spells are somewhat more reliable but still lose a large part of their potency. Wind and water magic, on the other hand, will actually gain power in the rain but not to the point where they compensate for the other elements. Nonetheles, any mage worth his salt must learn to use at least one of the two, lest he find himself unable to use magic due to simple bad weather.

Gamo smiles and says "So now you're calling him by name instead of newbie or rookie? Does that mean you finally acknowledge him?"

"Pfft, just answer the question" she makes a sound with her lips and responds dismissively to avoid that topic.

"Can he fight in rain, you ask? I don't know. Have you tried asking him personally?"

"I thought you did that already."

"Well I haven't, so you should go ask him since you brought it up. Maybe you'll get to know him better in the process. It's important to understand those who fight alongside you."

"Fine, I'll do it!" she says and then walks away annoyed, like a child who didn't get their way.

Gamo hides his amusement at Inaya's chagrin. He already knows that Rigel is quite adept with all five elements. However, the way Inaya behaves around Rigel shows that some bad blood remains between them. She can be a rather spiteful person and gets jealous easily. This is a cause of concern should they fall into a situation where their survival depends on being able to trust each other.

Thankfully he's been very patient during her occasional temper tantrums. I'll remember to thank him for that. He's more mature than Inaya even though he's also much younger. Such a fascinating young lad.

<><><><><>

Rigel is sitting under the shade of a tall tree while having what could be called a breakfast. In truth, it's just the usual dry meat and bread which he eats at almost every meal. This is the most a soldier can hope for during a military campaign. He could take some time to go hunting and foraging in the area, but this carries certain risks which captain Henin Asher would frown upon, seeing how they're in the middle of a crucial mission.

Ever since I completed the Origin rite, I can get by with less food than usual. It's very convenient during times like these.

Other soldiers of Bloodmoon who are nearby also take the time to rest or eat. There's no way to know when they might be on the move again, so they must make full use of rest time while they can.

"Hey, Rigel! It's going to pour hard today. Can you handle a fight in the rain?" Inaya questions in a neutral tone.

"I suppose so. I'll just use the water and wind so there's no need to materialize anything" he says curtly and then looks down again at the piece of bread in hand.

Looking vexed at the lazy response, Inaya changes the subject to something which intrigued her in the past but never found a good chance to say.

"You never mentioned what your affinity is. Could it be the dark arts since you already know them so well at your age? Or maybe something more conventional like elemental magic?"

A few other soldiers look in Inaya and Rigel's direction with interested eyes. They too are curious to know more about the young man who demonstrated a mastery far above his age. An affinity is a bias that every spellcaster has toward a particular element or type of magic. Similarly to eye color, magic affinity is an inborn trait which does not change at any point during the caster's life. It also gives some indication of the caster's personality. For example, those with a fire affinity tend to be short-tempered and also find it much easier to learn fire magic. A spell like Rain of Fire, which on average takes a year to master, would only take half as long (6 months) for someone with a fire affinity. The vast majority of spellcasters tend to specialize in magic related to their affinity.

"I never mentioned it because I don't have one..."

While continuing to sit and eat on the soft grass, Rigel makes a statement Inaya did not expect to hear.

"What do you mean you don't have one? The only people without an affinity are those with no aptitude for magic. There must be some element, some magic school you find better than the rest."

He stays silent for a few moments and then finds an answer in early memories.

"During my childhood, I was curious about water manipulation. It's what got me invested in magic studies. I guess I liked playing with fluid dynamics and water was the simplest source. That interest faded and eventually disappeared the older I became but it's the closest thing I have to an affinity. Now, I can use all five elements more or less equally. None of them feels easier than the rest. As for the exotic schools like dark or arcane, they were both very challenging. I went through every book I could find on the subject and devised my own experiments to fill in the gaps where possible."

He intentionally omits the fact that he can use chaos magic while making it sound like he isn't even aware of its existence. Inaya, Gamo and Asher have seen him use Divine Step once inside the mines of Tyrin and he wants to check if they recognized it.

Although the Chaos Mage was active in Zamora a few hundred years ago, her magic is still viewed as a taboo in much of the world. It's possible that Bloodmoon and King Hamal will turn against him if they figure out the extent of his abilities.

If I become a wanted man in Zamora too, things will be very difficult going forward.

Inaya looks incredulous about something. "But aren't you only 19 years-old? No matter what academy you went to or how good the teachers were, you must be exceptionally talented to have done all that in such a short time. I know a lot of people who would do anything to be in your position."

Hearing a different line than he expected, Rigel winces at those words. He is reminded of bad experiences from his days at the Amisos Magic Academy. It was a highly competitive environment, filled with prideful nobles who made it a breeding ground for jealousy and resentment. Students like Rigel who displayed uncommon ability were scorned and looked down upon by their peers. At the time, Rigel was doing his best to avoid conflict. Some interpreted this as cowardice and tried to hinder him by sabotaging his work. Even so, Rigel accepted this as the way things were and never complained to the academy staff nor to Amir, his mentor at the time.

Most of all, I hated it when people dismissed the results of my efforts as mere talent. It's one of the big reasons why I started doing research during my private time whenever possible. Why couldn't they just leave me alone...

Returning to the present, he buries these unpleasant memories in the back of his mind. He relaxes the annoyed expression on his face and looks up at Inaya.

No, this is different from back then. It's not hostility or mockery. This subtle disturbance in her aura... some jealousy perhaps?

Even while the human body is at rest, mana continues to flow within at all times. This flow is disturbed when a person is emotional, particularly from strong emotions like anger and sorrow. Rigel is slowly learning to make connections between them and the subtle changes in mana, allowing him to guess the emotional state of the person in front of him.

Inaya doesn't look angry so it must be anxiety or jealousy. It's still hard to tell them apart. I'm not even close to Nashira's level yet.

This skill was perfected by the mysterious woman who was kind enough to teach it to him. She also noted that if the person being read is manipulating their mana, such as during spellcasting, this drowns out the minor disturbances caused by emotion.

No matter the intention, at best this is meaningless small-talk or worse she's looking for information on Nashira or myself. Sorry Inaya, I'm not interested in providing either at the moment.

"I reached my current level after years of hard studying, practice and experimentation. Call it talent or what have you, I don't care. Now if don't mind, I'd like to finish my meal in peace."

He shuts down the conversation with no second thoughts. Inaya can guess from his behavior that something she said rubbed him the wrong way.

What's he so upset about? Is it because I called him talented? It's supposed to be a compliment!

Her life experience while learning magic is very different from Rigel's. It can't be helped she doesn't understand his revulsion to the word 'talent'.

"There is movement from the enemy camps!"

Another young man's voice sounds the alarm for everyone present. It appeared high above their heads, from Qasim who was hidden among the branches of the same tree Rigel was leaning against. His excellent eyesight makes him the first choice as scout and lookout man for Asher's team. Without any need to wait for their captain's orders, the soldiers of Bloodmoon drop everything and start preparing, Inaya and Rigel included.

<><><><><>

Before the death of King Leo Artemia, the kingdom of Amisos enjoyed an almost three decade-long peace. Most people would mention this as a good thing. Peace is preferable to the chaos and bloodshed of war. However, the major clans controlling the northern part of Amisos had different ideas.

'Peace makes us weak' they said. Without an opportunity for large-scale conflict for such a long time, the vast majority of soldiers in Amisos have never fought a big battle. Worried by this lack of real combat experience among their troops, Councilor Lachlan and his associates searched for what they needed in neighbouring countries.

Less than a year before the civil war began, Councilor Hadwin, whose lands are near the northern border, contracted a certain well-known mercenary band and secretly brought them to Amisos. The group was originally based in the Athenite Empire and sold their services to the highest bidder. Due to their extensive history, they came to be known by several different names: Bruisers, the Steel Legion and Sons of Bellerophon. The band's name was suddenly changed to 'Grey Raptors' for political reasons and to conceal their identity after being hired to fight in Amisos.

Numbering just over 100 fighters, this mercenary group is known as one of the strongest in the Athenite Empire. A low headcount comes from their strict requirements to join the band, among which is individual strength. With plenty of skilled warriors and mages among them, they are flexible, mobile and willing to take on all kinds of dangerous jobs; qualities which are highly valued in any armed troop. Having participated in open-field battles on dozens of occasions, many of their members died as a result. The ones who survived became hardened veterans of the battlefield, each one with a kill count in the dozens. Compared to Bloodmoon who specializes in covert missions, the Grey Raptors are far more experienced with conventional warfare.

This group was currently charging down the grassy plain on the strong backs of their warhorses. Only the front line of riders can be seen from a distance due to their tight, triangular formation. It would be impossible for a hundred men on horseback to maintain this formation during a charge without good discipline. The front lines are comprised of warriors wearing expensive plate armor, including helmets. Their round shields are large enough to cover the whole upper body and have a faint magical glow. Even the horses are protected by plates of metallic armor with a silvery sheen covering their heads and upper body. None of the cavalry riders is wearing a distinctive color, so outsiders can't guess who the leader is.

"They finally brought out the big guns. About 100 of them" Henin Asher states with a grave tone. He knows better than to underestimate them because of their numbers. A warrior of Asher's level can judge the strength of his opponent at a glance even without mana senses.

"We're in for a hard fight. Those shields are probably enchanted. I don't see any flags or banners at all. Do you recognize that emblem on the shields?" Gamonias asks of the young man beside him who possesses sharp eyes.

Qasim strains his eyes to look in the distance. "A man with a spear is riding a winged horse. It's a depiction of Bellerophon, a hero of the old legends."

"We can't identify them just from that. Should we retreat, captain?"

"That's not a bad idea, but..."

Asher is hesitating. Based on the latest communication, King Hamal's army is 5 more days away from Tyrin. It will only take 2 days for Hadwin's forces to reach the city if Bloodmoon retreats now. They need to slow them further if the city is to be saved. However, if they don't retreat and instead take on a fight against an unknown enemy, many of Bloodmoon's members may be lost. Asher must decide if he should prioritize the city or the lives of his comrades and friends.

There was no time to wait for the King's response. This lack of information is making things difficult. Fighting here could turn out to be meaningless in the long run. Should I take the risk regardless?

Objectively speaking, Tyrin has little value to Zamora even as an ally. Its military strength is low and its location has no real strategic value at this time. Zamora could pull all of their soldiers out of the city and allow it to be captured, thus delaying and draining Councilor Hadwin forces while allowing King Hamal more time to prepare. Some would call it dishonorable, but it's an effective tactic.

I can't do it. My King would be livid if he heard we allowed thousands of allies to die for this reason. It's not the way he taught us to fight. That being the case, what is the best course of action at this moment...?

Nearly a full minute of silence passes. It's too short for making life-and-death choices, but with the thundering sound of hooves getting louder and a distant cloud of dust getting larger, there is no time remaining.

"For now, let's fight. Gamo, I need you to send a signal to the other teams. Everyone else, get to your horses and prepare for battle!"

<><><><><>

An orb of energy rises high into the sky, its light strong enough to be seen in broad daylight. It shows a single color which changes over time, each color symbolizing a simple instruction. First it shows a purple which suggests to the other members of Bloodmoon that it's an order from the captain. It switches to a redder tone, meaning a bloody battle is ahead. Lastly, it uses a greenish tone which instructs them to abandon last night's tactic and regroup instead. Even if these vague orders are understood by the enemy, it's not much of a loss. Asher trusts the team captains to use their own judgement and adapt as the situation changes. Priority one is the mission's success.

Asher deduced from the enemy's movements that they have no plans to split into smaller groups like before. They advance steadily with all 100 troops in a southern direction, even ignoring the signal sent by Gamo. If Bloodmoon is to fight them, they must consolidate their forces as well.

"We're going to distract them a little time 'til then. Rigel, stick closely behind me at all times. Tomek, your team is our tail for now."

"Yes, captain."

Leaving behind the trees and vegetation where they hid, the 11 fighters advance into the grassy plain and stop in the path of the approaching force.

A spell which manifests as a formless, transparent mass of energy is fired at long distance by Gamonias while on horseback. It hits the enemy front line, colliding against their raised shields with a bang. The mana bursts outward, hitting the armor of others nearby with flashy sparks. The riders continue their charge as if nothing happened.

"Confirmed their shields are resistant against magic. Everyone be careful, they're well equipped."

"I can hit their unarmored back line easily from here" a mage from Tomek's group declares. "Lightning Spire"

The spell is perfectly positioned a couple meters above the enemy and takes into account the moving target. However, in the few seconds before activation, while the magic was charging, the enemy group reacts immediately by spreading out without breaking their triangular formation. Streaks of lightning rain down around them without hitting anything other than ground. Their formation was spaced out to avoid the area-of-effect magic, clearly a practiced move. Instead of using magic to block it, they conserved mana by simply avoiding it. The Bloodmoon soldier who cast it, however, expended a fifth of his total mana due to long distance spellcasting, wasted mana which won't recover until he has time to rest. After that, the Grey Raptors converge back to their initial formation.

"Olen, that was a stupid move." Gamonias' surprisingly angry voice is aimed at the man behind him who fired the previous spell, his disappointment evident to all. "An apprentice mage could've neutralized that kind of attack. Do I need to teach you the rules of counter-magic again?"

Aware and ashamed of his mistake, the one named Olen lowers his head. "Sorry... I lost my composure. I'll be more careful in the future."

"If you survive 'til then."

Ouch, that's harsh. I see Gamo isn't type to act nice when someone screws up. It sounds like he a teacher in the past? Rigel wonders.

In the next moment, his senses discover a magic source approaching at high speed. His awareness grasps the shape, scale and vibrations which determine spell type, trajectory and scope. There is no time to warn the others however.

"Enemy fire!"

Inaya senses the attack and shouts. Fortunately, a counter was already prepared as she gave the warning.

"Winter's Chill"

Gamonias intercepts the imminent attack with a composite water spell enhanced with arcane magic. The glowing orange projectile heading toward them dissipates as it passes through a dense cloud of chilled air and ice. He correctly anticipated the trajectory of the fire-based attack and took advantage of the high moisture in the atmosphere to create the perfect counter-magic. Most spells can be neutralized in this cost-efficient way, which is why first-rate mages will avoid using a lot of mana for one attack unless they're certain it will hit.

Rigel was about to use a counter of his own, but stays his hand after seeing that Gamonias handled it. He returns his attention to the surroundings. They're already in attack range. Any moment of carelessness is dangerous. The enemy calvary continues to shorten the distance at a steady pace. They will be in melee range in less than a minute.

"It's time. Tomek's team will go west to the woods. We're heading south. Inaya, you know what to do. Move!"

On the captain's mark, they split up as planned. The Zamorian horses put their powerful muscles to work and begin racing across the grassland at high speed. Asher's team is slightly faster since they're using the road which leads to the city of Tyrin. Relying on the strength of their mounts, they gain distance from the enemy.

Inaya turns around on her horse and fires a weak spell at the pursuers. It's easily negated by their mages, but this was expected. She's just trying to draw their attention at the moment. However, the Grey Raptors do not react as hoped. They change direction and start chasing after the other group. Even as they turn, one of their mages fires a spell at Inaya, which ends up neutralized by counter-magic.

"Captain, they're ignoring us and chasing Tomek!"

"We're going to pursue them then. Everyone keep an eye out for possible ambushes" Asher warns loudly enough to be heard over the horses' gallop.

"Understood."

The team slows down to turn right before returning to their furious gallop. A long chase ensues with the Grey Raptors pursuing Tomek's team and Asher following at a short distance behind. Every minute sees at least one spell being fired from either side. Of course, with so many skilled mages present, none of the spells ends up doing damage. On Rigel's side, Gamo and Inaya take turns blocking projectiles and area-of-effect is dodged by swerving their horses to the side. Ranged magic attacks are continually exchanged between all three groups, including Tomek's team which has only one mage, but it's all fruitless. Neither side is surprised by this outcome however.

"Take turns if you have to but keep up the harassment" was Asher's instruction. This was mentioned for Rigel's benefit, since the others were familiar with these tactics.

It may seem like a waste to use magic in such a useless fashion, but the intention is not necessarily to cause damage. Certainly they would be happy to see a spell land, but it's just as important to constantly harass the enemy. This has the effect of distracting them and keeping tensions high, since failing to block a spell could end in someone's death. No matter how well-trained, humans are vulnerable to mental stress and exhaustion.

"Arrows incoming!"

Asher's team quickly catches up to the Grey Raptors who are burdened by heavy armor. The mercenaries take out bows and start shooting back when this happens. Arrows can be blocked with shields which most warriors have, but the mages do not. In a typical battle formation, mages are always the back line. They have no need for shields since they're protected by armored warriors on the front. Magic can also block arrows, though it's highly undesirable to do so for any period of time. It's a huge waste of mana and anticipating the path of arrows is a challenge even for excellent mages. A wall of earth could be erected if they were standing still, but this isn't an option on horseback. Worst of all, a horse's large body makes an easier target than a human. If the horse goes down, the rider won't escape even if he survives the fall.

"Shift more to the left!"

It's a bad idea to stay directly behind in a chase on horseback while getting shot at. Ideally, the pursuers want be positioned a bit off to the side. Unfavorable wind makes the arrows deviate strongly and therefore miss, thus forcing the mercenary band to use only magic.

"Stay on my tail and watch our flanks! We're close to the forest!"

A thin wall of trees in the distance gets bigger as they approach. It can't really be called a forest since the vegetation is too sparse, but it's a convenient spot for an ambush. The trees provide good cover and obscure the area. A handful of figures on horseback are faintly visible between the tree trunks. They're all wearing cloaks which hide the armor underneath, but Rigel recognizes them as soldiers of Bloodmoon. In other words, allies.

I see, they were preparing an ambush with the other teams. But the enemy must realize that as well. Why are they just charging in blindly? Are they overconfident? They must have some kind of plan. It would be too stupid to charge into an obvious ambush with us flanking them like this.

"Go left!"

Another shout from Asher interrupts Rigel's thoughts. Just as the warning is given, two small groups split off from the band of mercenaries, one on each side, and circle around the back as if to surround Asher's team. Both groups are lightly armored and therefore much faster than the main force which keeps charging ahead toward the trees. With Rigel's group turning left as instructed, they avoid the encirclement and only the left-side group remains in attack range.

The captain anticipated the flanking attempt before the enemy started to move. It's almost like he can see the future. Is this the power of experience?

A ball of lightning whizzes past him at less than a meter distance. The enemy spell was poorly aimed so there was no need to defend. However, it takes a brave soul to ignore a potentially lethal spell like this. It's close enough that he can feel a slight tingle on his ear from the electricity. After having spells thrown at him countless times at the Academy though, he's quite used to it.

"Whoa there."

He feels a shiver in the animal beneath him. Zamorian warhorses are quite tolerant even in a situation where dangerous magic is being fired at them, but even they can't help but shiver in fear sometimes. He gently strokes the back of the animal's head to soothe it and then looks back toward the enemy riders.

The closest group is roughly 50m off to the side with the second gaining on them from behind. There are about 10 in total, with the other 90 still moving toward the forest on the right. With every second they draw closer. Rigel's position is slightly behind and to the right of his own team, so he can see everything with no obstruction.

Suddenly, a massive swell of aura draws his attention to the first, closest group.

It feels like a big attack is coming.

His eyes zero in on the culprit, a hooded figure wearing a featureless, grey mage robe. His muscular hands are holding a weapon one wouldn't expect a mage to have. It's a large axe with a strongly curved blade, commonly known as a crescent axe. Its size is more than average and made entirely out of metal. Even a strong warrior needs both hands to swing something so heavy. However, its appearance is closer to an ornament than a weapon. The upper part of the handle has detailed carvings. Its silvery shine shows that it's polished regularly. Two small strands of what seems to be red cloth are attached to bottom. A single gem is embedded in the middle part of the blade, where it connects to the handle. Rigel cannot see it well from his position but he can feel strong mana coursing through it.

That's no ordinary item. It's a high-quality enchantment. What is he going to do with it from that far? It's too heavy to throw, especially on horseback. Maybe it's some type of wind enchantment?

While similar thoughts are occurring among Rigel's comrades, the man raises the weapon above his head. Defying common sense, he swings down hard with both hands and the axe leaves his grip.

"Watch out!"

The large blade becomes a blur as it spins rapidly on itself. It ignores gravity while picking up speed as it flies toward them in a straight line. Its sharp glow cuts through the air with terrifying speed, yet with surprising silence. Getting hit means losing a limb at the very least and blocking isn't an option. Rigel's group disperses in every direction, with each member changing course to avoid getting hit. Rigel pulls the reins on his horse to slow down, allowing the weapon to pass harmlessly in front. Having avoided the attack, he then speeds up again to catch up with the others.

That was a bit scary. I still don't understand though. Who would throw an enchanted weapon like that? Will they pick it up after—

A skin-crawling sound is suddenly heard. It's the sound of steel rending flesh. In the time it took to glance at the enemy riders, the enchanted axe deviated from it's expected path and circled around behind Rigel's group, only to come back like a boomerang without losing any speed at all.

It only took a moment of inattention. With force several times stronger and faster than a warrior's swing, the blade shreds through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter. Splashes of blood paint the ground with a beautiful crimson. The first drops of rain begin to fall as a severed head rolls across the countryside grass, still gushing out warm blood.