In Adringum's most famed restaurant, two men and lordling were sitting, enjoying a meal.

"You've heard my proposal, no?"

"Of course, lord Vyncis."

"It is quite favorable, and yet you abstain. Why?"

"I—we," he fixed, looking over at his partner, "—merely wish to inquire why you wish to purchase three iron mines."

"You know my projects, yes? Some of them require iron."

"Of course. And a project that requires more than 40,000 kilograms of iron a year must be quite grand. You see what we are hinting at?"

Rory sat back, locking his hands together in his best bond villain impression. "You wish to invest."

They bowed. "With your approval."

Rory sighed. "I am sorry, but I must refuse."

"Why is that, lord Vyncis?"

"I have my reasons. In any case, it is absolutely confidential."

"That is fine, my lord. We are merely investing; we have no interest in the product."

"Unfortunately, there is no legal basis for this. I am obligated to present any investors the full details of my project. I am afraid I cannot allow it over a vocal agreement."

"Vyncis, you must know as a fellow businessman, you must always strive for growth. We are stagnating. A share of one of your future ventures—"

"You can have a share in another project."

One of the men leaned in. "None of them have ever been this massive. We are looking to win, Vyncis, not just profit."

"Alright," Rory began, but was interrupted by another lordling, his hair similarly black. "Kywell? I am a little preoccupied right now," he said, agitation clear in his voice.

"I have important information."

Information so important he would go himself? "Wait just a minute," he said, turning towards the two men. "Two million gild for your mines. Last offer, I'll leave the agreement here. Sign and have it sent to the Vyncis estate." Rory stood up. "Kywell, let's find a more secure location.

Lorem nodded and lead him out of the restaurant and into an alley. He brought out a piece of parchment and two pens. Rory's face grew serious. He took a pen and waited for Lorem to begin.

Very confidential. Don't tell. Will get me killed. Only tell you because threat.

What is it?

Hellbram meet Aklan. Plan invasion.

Invasion of where?

Adringum.

What?

Aklan border Vyncis land. They wipe you out.

Does he hate me that much?

He has always disliked the Vyncis. You final straw. Plan coming along. Will invade in likely a few months.

He will lose land.

People in southern Adringum very poor, don't pay much tax. Not worth.

People will hate him.

People will hate Vyncis.

Does Pier know?

No. Must leave, suspicious.

Rory nodded and followed him out, immediately calling a carriage and ordering it to bring him to the Vyncis estate. Thoughts raced through his mind; I didn't piss him off that much, did I? What I even supposed to do? Obviously the King's armies will be conveniently late, so I can't rely on that. I could ask some other families for troops, but most of them will be pressured by Hellbram to wait. Just the Vyncis armies, I suppose. I hope we have a big one. Will I have to introduce guns? I was avoiding this... Soon, he had arrived. He jumped out and ran into the mansion, racing towards the second door of the first floor, where a surprised Pier was waiting for him.

"Rory? Whatever could it be?"

"We need a safe place to talk. Now."

"Here, then?"

Rory shook his head. "No. Absolutely no one must hear."

"Even Rosa?"

"She doesn't need to be involved.. Do you have a safe room?"

"I do indeed. Follow me," he said, rising. He proceeded to walk down several halls, turn at least five times, and at one point double back before they reached their destination, a gray, drab room, god knows where in the mansion. "We should be fine. Now, what is it that is so urgent?"

Rory took a breath. "King Hellbram is working with Aklan to invade our land."

"That's preposterous—! No, you wouldn't lie. Not about this. Is your source credible?"

Rory nodded. "About as credible as can be."

"There are many problem's here," Pier said, beginning to pace. "First of all, that must mean that he is absolutely committed to killing us off. Even if we survive the invasion, it will not end until one of us is finished."

"But first, we need to survive."

"Yes, of course." He sighed. "He has timed this very well..."

"What do you mean?"

Pier shook his head. "Sorry, Rory, but I cannot lead the army. I am bound to the capital this year."

"Wait, why?"

"King's policy. The head of each noble family must stay in the capital for alternating years. It's a way of keeping power over us."

Rory sighed. "I had hoped to stay here."

"I had hoped that as well," Pier agreed. "You've earned love from both the workers and the intelligentsia. Do you have military training?"

"No. Actually yes, but I do not believe it is applicable."

"You see, we don't have any officers anymore."

"Excuse me?"

"You're all we have in terms of commanders."

"What of our army?"

"It doesn't exist."

"How does that happen!? How did we get the land in the first place?"

"Our personal forces were mostly disbanded. We will need to call a new militia force."

"What happened to the officers?"

"The lower officer's and NCO's went back to their homes. The generals," he said, grimacing, "are dead now. Don't ask how."

Rory stared him down. "I need to know how."

Pier stared back. Finally, he relented. "Alright. Fine. The higher officers were all members of the Vyncis family. They died in the war against Aklan a few decades back."

"The war against Aklan?"

"You should know some of it. In fact, it's a very similar situation now. Aklan seemingly randomly decided to attack us. That time, we not only pushed them back, but we gained a significant amount of land."

"At the cost of most of the family?"

Pier sighed. "Unfortunately. Indeed, that may have been the King's doing as well. We never thought he would actually..."

"So now I have to call up a draft for a militia and assemble an army capable of fighting a prepared Aklan offensive in a few months?"

"They're invading in a few months!?" he exclaimed, his face growing dark. "I thought we had a year at least."

Rory shook his head. "A few months. They must have been planning this for a while now, only deciding to execute now."

"It might be best for you and Rosa to flee to another country."

"And let the Vyncis fall?"

"We've fallen for a while now. You've kept us afloat, but there's no reason—"

"No. I'm not losing something else. Besides, I have some tricks up my sleeve."

Pier laughed. "Oh, yes. I had forgotten who I was talking to. Well, boy, you'll need all the magic you can muster for this one."

"Don't worry, I have plenty. I'll be departing right away. There's no time to lose."

"Good luck, lad. If you need advice, send me a letter."

Rory marched out of the mansion, immediately beginning to arrange transportation. Should he ride incognito or bring a full procession? On one hand, riding alone would be faster. On the other hand, he needs troops, and he needs to advertise himself. A full procession would be better for that. He decided to balance the two, bringing the best carriage he had, headed towards Sym, the local Vyncis capital, at a gentle trot. He would make it in roughly two days; not particularly fast, but he could start immediately and it would look at least somewhat regal. He looked back at the Mansion—he hadn't told Rosa, but... Pier would tell her later. Besides, she would probably insist on going. It was for the best.

It had been nearly two hours on the road, and Rory had begun to nod off, his peers at the Engineering guild having finally attached his springs to the wheel axels, making the ride much more comfortable. He thought he heard some rustling coming from behind the seat opposite of his, but it was probably just the frame rubbing against some of the interior fabric. It was, however, disturbing his attempts to sleep. After nearly thirty minutes of this, he was fed up, rising with a rage and blindly sticking his hands behind the seat, hoping to find whatever loose cloth was causing the disturbance and ripping it to shreds. To his surprise, however, he felt something rounder... with more volume... did one of the dogs get in or something?

In a drowsy stupor, he grabbed the figure and lifted it so he could see. The figure, however, gave a very un-doglike shriek when he did so, and his eyes spotted not a furry canine face, but rosey-blonde hair and dainty porcelain skin.

"...Rosa?"

"W-why, hello there Rory. F-fancy meeting you here," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"Rosa."

"Oh, well, I was having a ride, and then I fell asleep behind here."

"Rosa."

"Alright, alright! I saw you in a hurry so I hid myself here beforehand." Her eyes were beginning to tear up. "Let me stay, please? Please?"

Rory just stared at her.

"Please? Please?"

Rory sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Fine."

"Woo!"

"Just so you know, I'm going to dangerous places."

"What is life without danger?"

"No, really, Rosa. This is serious."

"I can handle myself. Probably."

Rory sighed again.

"So... what is going on, again?"

"I'll tell you on the way. We've got plenty of time," he said, looking out at the foliage.

The carriage was rolling itself into Sym, the municipal capital. Despite only being a few hundred miles away from the national capital, the city's rustic airs were easy to see. The roads were of poor quality, being either worn cobblestone or simply packed dirt. Little stone huts with thatched roofs dotted the land. And, of course, standing above it all, on a mighty hill overlooking the land, stood the true Vyncis palace, a majestic stone building that contrasted harshly with the surrounding land.

Rory looked outside the window, being careful not to move too much and disturb Rosa, who was sleeping on his shoulder. At first, he thought it was just some curious peasants, but the crowd that had formed around the carriage began to grow, and their faces didn't seem too happy. Rory wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but didn't seem good. He shook Rosa awake.

"H-huh?" she asked drowsily.

"Look outside."

"That's a lot of people."

"Indeed. I'm going to go talk to them. See what they want. Wait here," he said, opening the door and poking his head out. "Hello! Good afternoon, I am Rory—"

"We know who you are! Give Rosa back!" one of them screamed.

"Erm, excuse me? What do you mean?"

"You're no Vyncis! You bewitched Pier Vyncis and Rosa Vyncis! You even had the gall to take Rosa as your wife! Give her back, infidel!"

Rosa peeked her head. "Ugh, Rory, what's going on?"

"No, get down, it's dangerous—"

"See! Proof!"

"No, wait—"

Several of them began to pick up rocks. The captain of the squadron of guards looked towards Rory for confirmation to begin suppressing them. He could see shadows closing in…

"No, don't, I need to get them to fight for me... But I need do to something..."

"Just let me talk to them," Rosa said. "They're afraid about me, right? I'll just reassure them that everything is alright, and then everyone's happy."

"But it's dangerous—"

"Oh, come on, Rory. You have to let me do something."

"But—"

"Too late," she said, jumping out of the carriage in one swoop. Cries of "Rosa!" rose throughout the crowd.

"Hey, everybody! It's been a lot time, hasn't it?"

"Rosa, come back!" "That guy's no good." "He's been tricking you!"

"Hey! That's not nice. Quiet down." To Rory's amazement, they actually did quiet down. "Rory's a very nice guy. He's an Abex. You know what that means, right? He's just like you guys!"

Unfortunately, that only fanned the flames. "We're not worthy!" "That guy's just dirt like us!" "I'm going to kill him!"

"No, no, be quiet! Look, Rory's done a lot of things for me. He saved me from an actual marriage with the Tydyll family."

"Wait, really?" "But he's still not a Vyncis!"

"No, uh, he was born here! All of you are the sons and daughters of the Vyncis, right? So, uh, technically he was a Vyncis!"

"That works, doesn't it?" "Is that true?" "I've never seen him around."

"And, uh, I actually l-love him! If you harm him you harm me!" Tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

"You've made her cry, you idiots!" "We're sorry!" "Forgive me!"

Triumphant, Rosa returned to the carriage. "No man ever survives my tears," she said with a wink.

Rory sighed, cupping his face with his right hand. "There are too many problems here for me to even begin... Why do they like you so much, anyway..."

The crowds began to disperse and the carriage continued onwards toward the Vyncis mansion. Finally, they reached the great iron gates, a bit rusted after years of disuse. They got off the carriage, and began to enter the building, when suddenly, Rory saw a blade rush towards him. Not good, not good! I can't reach Chronos in time

The blade was deflected however, before it reached him. The culprit—Rory recognized him from the crowd before—was disarmed and pinned to the ground by a masked figure wearing a black uniform. Another ten black figures wearing similar uniforms pointed a variety of weapons at him—swords, spears, pole arms, crossbows, bows, they had it all. They were not, however, masked, and Rory could their faces. They looked young, no only than 15. Some even looked ten. Their formation and posture were perfect, though; even Rory’s untrained eyes could see that. And they had appeared from nowhere, moving seemingly faster than the eye can see.

Rory and Rosa were pushed back, surrounded back-to-back and protected by another five of them. Rory noticed that the one in front of him was not only taller than the rest, by also had a mask on.

"Uh, who are you?" Rory asked with a nervous chuckle.

The culprit, now pinned on all sides by three of them, croaked out, "I-I'm just a farmer—" but was interrupted by a kick to the face.

"Erm, no, I mean you," Rory said, pointing towards the uniformed figures.

The masked one who had pinned the poor farmer, his duty relieved by his peers, dropped to a knee, his head bowed deep in respect. "We are yours, my lord. We are the Roniceri."