Thasun received his luggage from a servant. Upon his arrival in the city, he had placed it in the hands of one of the guards.

It was likely that he would need the mask, that the great master had given him, since it was impossible to say what the current situation in Sandrei was. It was a barony that essentially acted as a border between the hordes of the east and Zenshin. They often had to deal with pillaging from the horse lords.

The title “Lord” had been given to Baron Thalor Mey for his exceptional ability to defend the border and his countless victories in battle. Master Iordai’s orders were to do anything in his power to send the Nepheniel as soon as possible.

It did not matter what kind of consequences Thasun had to deal with. The boy was of a higher important to him.

After all, it had been centuries since the appearance of the last Valurén.

Deep inside the fortress, in a large, round and open room, a circle was engraved into the stone floor. It consisted entirely of a silver, shiny metal, creating a space that about 100 soldiers could fit on. Thasun saw Lord Enguràll’s face twitch, as he grabbed the lever that had been worked into the wall.

Apparently, he was dissatisfied about this wasteful use of a portal charge. After all, this magical gateway used the same amount of energy whether one sent one man or a hundred. And since sorcerers were a thing of ages long past, nobody could recharge it once its core lost all power.

Regretfully he pulled the lever and the metal circle began to glow in a blue hue. Then Thasun felt like he fell slowly. The surroundings rapidly changed, thousands of colors shot past his eyes as everything became a blur. Then his fall ended, just seconds later, and the swordmaster found himself standing in a near identical room.

This one however differentiated quite a bit. It lied in ruins.

About a third of the roof dome was missing and it rained inside. Apparently the water puddles had not influenced the portal at all.

Thasun touched all over his body. Nothing felt out of place. This way of traveling was amazing! To cross such distances in such a short amount of time… shivers went down his spine, as he realised what had happened just now.

Still completely off guard, he left the large hall that was practically only a single building, designed like a large dome. About a hundred meters in diameter, maybe a bit more. A long time ago it could have been a beautiful building, but now it laid in ruin.

Thasun knew that this portal was rarely ever used. This amount of carelessness would not make Lord Enguràll happy…

Outside he spotted a guard. Well, if anyone could even call it that. He leaned on the wall where the rain would not reach him and slept. Thasun grinned. Nobody would know that he arrived here. Could he maybe use that to his advantage?

Attempt a stealthy robbery instead of trying diplomacy? He thought about it for a moment. He had never been good at sneaking around and designing an elaborate plan.

His strength was to go towards his goal hard. With violence.

So Thasun did the best he could. He kicked the guard with full force right into a puddle of rainwater.

“Argh!” What? Who? Who are you?!”

Thasun stepped closer, grabbed the young soldier by his head and pressed him back into the could water. The boy was barely in his twenties. Seconds later he pulled the struggling man back on his feet and yelled at the perplexed guard. “Are we feeling better soldier? Huh?! Or are we still sleeping?!”

The young soldier looked shamefaced. Immediately he tried to stand firm and saluted with a fist on his leather armor. Apparently he had remembered what to do now. The long spear and shield still leaned on the wall. Forgotten. “Recruit Reynes, reporting no special occurrences on guard duty! Sir!”

Thasun rolled his eyes. A kick against the firmly planted feet of the young soldier. A quick grab to the collar of his armor and his face already greeted the cold puddle of rainwater.

A moment later Thasun brought him to stand again. “No special occurrences?! You were sleeping! On. Guard. Duty! And I arrived here with the portal! I do not find that funny. Alright. Let’s go! Move! You will bring me directly to your immediate superior!”

The solder grabbed his weapons and the military bag and rand hurriedly down the road, Thasun in tow.

The swordmaster had to grin. It was always so much fun to hackle the young recruits. To instill discipline in them. Again and again he screamed at the young man to run either faster or in an even pace.

The portal was apparently no short distance away from the fortress. The countryside was here mostly covered in dense forest. Thasun was able to spot the great steppe plains towards the east from time to time though. They were really close to the border here.

These forests that had formed densely over gentle hills were most likely the sole reason why Zenshin had not been overrun a long time ago.

Two outposts further to the east had been given up hundred-fifty years ago, when it was just not feasible to defend the smaller castles anymore. Now they laid dormant and vacated. Nomads had no use for stone homes after all.

But nobody could change their immediate dominance over these wide plains. To meet them in the open field was like fighting a pack of wolves as a housecat. Mounted archers harassed armies to the point of defeating them.

Even a cavalry charge was helpless against them. They kept the distance and their horses were mostly superior. And even a full frontal attack of thousands or mounted fighters was impossible to hold with foot soldiers. They would just run you over.

After about half an hour of walking the city and the keep came into sight. This was the only thing holding back the hordes. And even though this stronghold looked tough, he questioned how anyone could win battles though.

The city was built on a widespread hillside that stood about fifty to a hundred meters higher than the surrounding area. Six walls secured the safety of its inhabitants.

Thasun knew how quickly security could turn to be a prison. Invasions locked people into a starving city, where madness slowly took over. Surely the surrounding area and support from Zenshin made such a siege difficult. Without wide open areas the horse lords could not play their best cards.

Not to mention that horses were literally useless in breaking a fortress. And maybe it was also their supply chain. Thousands of horses needed a lot of food, and usually nomades constantly moved to negate that fact.

While Thasun crossed the distance in the company of the young guard, he spotted several changes. The few fields that laid between the city and the dense forests, had been burnt down. Thousands of soldiers and citizens were working there to raise barricades and dig pitfalls and trenches. At first the swordmaster assumed there was a siege going on.

But apparently Lord Thalor Mey only tried to increase the defensive perimeter. Such barricades could easily be surrendered after they gained an advantage for the defenders and cost little but work effort.

The rumours of unrest to the east seemed to have truth in their core. Soon the swordmaster found himself in front of the city gates. He looked around carefully, trying to remember every sport of weakness that he could possibly exploit should he have to flee.

The orders of the great master made clear, that the Valley of Ending had not the best relationship to the ruling nobility of Sandrei. Since the Lord hated master Iordai for sleeping with his wife, it was doubtful that he would give Thasun what he wanted.

If push came to shove Thasun would figure something out. Killing, stealing and taking hostages. Though… he had not worked that out yet. Planning was not his forté. Usually he just hit stuff till it worked.

After all, everything could be solved by using pure and unrefined violence. A locked door in your way? Use violence. Guards? Use violence. Somebody refuses to give you what you wanted? Torture never did any harm. If that did not work one only had to burn the city to the ground and somebody would help eventually. At least that had been Thasun’s experience so far.

First he had to try his best to calm the anger of this lord against his great master as best he could though. It was worth a shot.

An older soldier at the gate divided different citizens into labor parties and eyed Thasun curiously only after he coughed. “Yes?”

The young guard soldier stood firm again and saluted in overly motivated fashion. “Lieutenant. Recruit Nastor reports back from guard duty.”

The higher ranking soldier looked confused. “What guard post was assigned to you?”

The young man got more and more nervous, the longer his report lasted. “S-southern war portal. A-a man arrived there.”

Thasun rolled his eyes. “What he wants to say is, that he slept on duty. Unarmed too. He did not notice my arrival either. Lieutenant, please refer me to his lordship Thalor Mey. I have a urgent message for him.”

The officer frowned at him. “Through the gate. Always straight ahead. You can pass freely until you reach the last game. All reports go through Seledief. A merchant that gathers information and forwards them to the Thalor household. You can’t miss him.”

Then he turned to pull the recruits ear. He pulled him towards one of the working parties. Apparently he would have to work now instead of sleeping on guard duty.

Thasun had often thought about becoming a soldier when he was still younger. He loved it. War, violence and the hierarchy intrigued for him.

Sighing he passed the gate and made his way towards the castle. On his way he received a first impression under how much pressure the city was.

Aside from a few traders that sold consumables, everyone was on the street working on arrows, bows and other supportive goods that would help defend the city.

Braziers were put on the walls and filled. Oil was already stored in boilers that hung over a big fireplace. Although that one had not been lit, it could be in an instant. Children and old geezers were practicing with common and crudely made bows.

Thasun’s unrest grew. A battle. Nobody had told him anything! That was even better than to cause trouble with a noble household and the promise of fighting in order to do so.

After twenty minutes Thasun stood in front of a fat merchant. A really, really fat merchant. A normal person could have eaten Thasun three times whole and the swordmaster was still unsure if that came close to this man’s size.

He occupied a small table instead of a chair, that had been lowered intentionally. In front of him three servants stood, sorting through all sorts of documents on a table of regular height.

Thasun quickly explained that he had arrived with the war portal down south and that he has a very important message for Lord Thalor. Immediately he was escorted by two armed guards and sent towards the keep. There another four joined them, all guarding him with drawn swords. The swordmaster agreed with their diligence.

Those men had been trained properly.

In a smaller version of a thrones room, Thasun laid down his weapons and sat down in a calm posture. The guards positioned in a line in front of the thrones, apparently lord and lady Thalor were attending meetings here together.

Thasun tried to meditate, but it did not take long for a door to open near these large wooden chairs.

“-right. Additionally we have sent riders to request further help from other nobles in the area.” An older man looked up from his notes and faced Thasun. Next to him a elegant, old lady strode into the room. Although aged, her face possessed a certain beauty.

Her companion blinked at his notes again. “Thasun Torreí, M’lady. He is here to report on… Apparently he came through the southern portal? Ah. Yes. Hmm… Yes. He brings a message from the capital.”

The older woman eyed Thasun curiously as she sat down. “You bring good news?”

The swordmaster bowed deeply. “I am no messenger of Lord Enguràll. He is apparently still not informed about the current situation here.”

Immediately her gaze froze. “What did you want then? Speak.”

Thasun rose to sit calmly again and nodded. “Lady Irina Thalor, I beg your forgiveness, my master the great Ritto Iordai sends me with a request.”

The old woman blinked, before her face bore a serene smile. “He is still alive? That really makes me happy to hear… Is he well?”

Thasun shook his head. “M’lady, I’m afraid he was attacked and poisoned only days ago. Currently he is unwell and resting. It does not look all that well.”

Depressed Thasun bowed gain. He really hoped that the relationship between her and his master stood as well as he always claimed. Luckily the Lord was not around to spoil the mood. But were those stories all true?

“Oh… My god… That is horrible.” A shocked old lady held a hand in front of her mouth. A tear almost visible in her eye.”Did… did he send you to say goodbye to… to me?”

Thasun showed a worried face. “Yes and.. no. His will indicates that we are supposed to relay a letter to you. But since the master has not passed away I cannot do that. I actually want to ask a favor.”

Lady Thalor nodded, struggling to keep her tears from showing. “Speak.”

“In your possession is something that is known as a Nepheniel. With this artifact we could try to heal the poisoning of our great master... “

Her advisor immediately spoke up. “Madame. This particular piece is worth a lot of gold… to just give it away is... “

But Lady Thalor did not want to hear it. “Send the strongest, healthiest falcon with it. If this Nepheniel can help him, we should do everything in our power to help…. Oh. And Arletan. Hurry up and do it right now.”

The advisor curtsied and shot a glare towards the swordmaster. “It will be done. He will fly within the hour.”

Thasun was impressed. Apparently his master did not tell lies as often as he and the other masters suspected him to. “I am forever in your debt.” He bowed deeply again, this time reaching the floor with his forehead again.

Ollowyn was saved if the gods willed the weather to remain calm. The little ongoing rain would subside soon too, so Thasun was hopeful.

And apparently this was not the last of all the good news. “Master Torreí. I assume you have been trained by Ritto himself? If so… could you please help with the battle? My husband has not returned since he rode to battle three days ago. He should have been back long ago… I’m afraid he has passed this time around…”

Tears streamed down her eyes. “And the Kórren Lahn will be here in a few days. Either to plunder or to take the city. I need to protect my people.”

Thasun nodded seriously. “Of course. I am your humble servant for this battle. Whatever needs to be done, I will see to it.”

He gave her a calm appearance, while his inner child raged rampant. A battle!

Finally a battle!

The first time in a really long time that he would shrug off the chains the great master had put on him and roam free!

To dive into a sea of enemies and let his instincts run wild, Thasun could not wait for this to happen.