Eric didn’t know how he managed to keep himself from going insane throughout the middle of the day. Between the unexpected loss of Moran and the continued fighting once they returned to the defense of the inner wall, his mind was stuck in a fugue. He knew only that he had to protect Megan and his remaining friends from the same fate as his old sergeant. He had to do everything he could to defend the city and chase back the invaders who were trying to wipe it out.

The battle for Milagre had shifted slightly. Rather than a concentrated attack on one section of the inner wall, the Attosian force had spread out more, attacking on a wide front and hitting the wall at half a dozen different points. The defenders had spread out to match them, and as more reinforcements came, their defense was strengthened. It was clear to both sides that this barrier wouldn’t be so easy to cross, as the outer wall had been.

Two hours after Moran’s death, Megan and Eric were to be found in an impromptu war meeting. They had been dragged along by Samuel and Master Ehran as their personal apprentices, and they were listening intently to the discussions flying around. Messengers had brought reports in from all quarters of the city, and news was being traded even as new plans formed. Eric was relieved to hear that the situation wasn’t quite as grim as he’d expected.

“The coatl attack came to nothing, of course,” Samuel was saying, with all eyes locked onto him. “Auriel wasn’t able to get her family into position before Attos took the outer ring.”

“That’s a shame,” Enri, Captain of the Queen’s Guard, sporting a nasty injury on one hand, was there and stabbed his finger down at the map displayed in front of them. “If she could have caught them while they were on the plains, our job would have been all the easier for it.”

Samuel nodded in agreement, his eyes lingering for a moment on Enri’s wound. He himself had a bloody bandage on one leg and his torso, and he was bearing a new silver scar, evidence of a wound he couldn’t heal completely “True, but my Spellblades and I were able to take out a good number of their rear forces.”

The Queen tapped the map thoughtfully. Out of everyone in the meeting, she was uninjured. Her armor and weapon had tasted blood that day, but her guard had taken the worst of the injuries. It was common knowledge that the rulers of Tyrman took part in the same fighting as their men, but the Queen’s protection was still the priority. It was a good call, for she was able to attend this meeting because of it, and take the lead for the shaken group of veteran soldiers.

“Well done on that, Samuel,” she said, her normally smooth voice a little hoarse from shouting orders all morning. “Once again, this country owes you a great deal.”

Samuel waved a diffident hand. “I’m just doing what I can, El. There are others who have contributed just as much, and even more than I did.”

They all glanced towards the ruined palace wall as he said that, noting the giant hole that Lana Beran and her surprise attack had created. The Queen nodded. “Yes. I should also thank you two for your considerable effort. I’m told you were instrumental in protecting us from a rear attack.”

Megan and Eric both shifted uncomfortably at the attention, and mumbled nearly inaudible replies to her gratitude. Samuel and Ehran couldn’t help grinning at each other, enjoying the moment. Then all faces were serious once more as the Queen resumed her part in the discussion.

“So. We’ve held the inner wall for nearly three hours. What else is there that can be done? What do we have in reserve for a counter-attack?”

Markus Ciayol, High General of the army, stroked his beard as he replied. “We could always continue to hold out. We have a strong fortified defense now, and Attos’ forces can’t afford to siege forever. They’ve already lost a fifth of the force they committed. Without the element of surprise, they’re flagging.”

The Queen’s head snapped up to stare at her General. When she spoke, her voice was cold. “Cousin. Do you really think I’ll choose that option?”

He looked up to meet her eyes, then his gaze dropped. She continued, “I don’t want Attos leaving with the impression that they barely lost. I want them routed. I want them devastated. They won’t leave our lands tired. They’ll leave running in terror, rueing the day they dare challenged us.”

There was a general rumble of agreement from the others, and Markus offered an apologetic bow. “I apologize, Your Majesty. I did not consider my words before speaking.”

“We could always try a sneak attack of our own,” Enri put in. When the Queen looked at him with obvious interest, he shrugged slightly, gesturing to include Samuel in the idea. “We still have plenty of fresh reserves. Markus is correct in thinking that we could hold out indefinitely. But instead, we could get forces outside the city, and attack them while they’re weak.”

“But how will we get any forces out without notice?” Markus said, looking pleased that he’d been forgiven for his slip. “Attos is bound to have eyes on us, and they’ll see any movements we make.”

Enri was still looking intently at Samuel, who nodded slowly. “You’re thinking of using World Shift, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Enri replied simply. “Not just us, but as many soldiers as we can carry. How many could we take between the two of us?”

“What is World Shift?” Megan asked Eric, keeping her voice quiet. “Have you ever heard of this spell?”

Eric remembered all too clearly the last time he’d heard World Shift mentioned. He leaned closer to Megan and whispered back. “I don’t know exactly how it works, but it’s basically a teleport. I think Samuel and Enri are the only ones who can do it.”

Megan thought about that for a few seconds, then nodded her understanding. Meanwhile, Samuel was looking thoughtful himself. After a few seconds of silence, he shrugged. “My best guess is no more than fifty. That’s nothing compared to the force currently outside. It would be fifty against almost two thousand.”

“But,” Megan interrupted, her voice louder. As everyone looked at her, she hesitated, realizing that she’d just interrupted people far above her in rank. The Queen gestured at her to continue, however, so she boldly pushed on. “We also have to keep in mind that Attos is fully in the city now, right? So anything we do will damage the city as well.”

“That’s a good point,” Master Ehran put in. “Attos occupies the greater part of the citizen’s home district. That’s nearly five thousand homes we risk destroying.”

“Homes can be rebuilt,” Markus said firmly. “Milagre is a strong city, and we could survive.”

“And in the meantime, that will be five thousand families without shelter,” Ehran said, just as firm. “With winter coming, that cannot be considered so lightly.”

“What if you marked the entire area, Samuel?” Enri asked. “If you carve a line of runes, you could minimize the damage and put any extra devastation into the Etherial Plane.”

Samuel made a gesture of distaste. “I don’t think that’s feasible. I could do that if I had enough time to prepare, but it would take me days, possibly weeks to prepare an area that size. Attos will notice me moving about the city, and then they can ruin my effort. I’d have to be sneaky, which will slow me down considerably.”

“It will do us no good to have you occupied for that long,” The Queen agreed. “What of World Shift? How long would it take you to prepare that?”

“No more than an hour,” Samuel replied at once. “But as Megan and Ehran said, that’s a lot of damage to the city.”

“We’ll have to risk it,” The Queen said. Ehran’s head snapped up, and he looked at her in shock. “I’m sorry Ehran. I know how that will affect the civilians. But we won’t be breaking Shigeru’s Divine Law, as those homes are currently unoccupied.”

“Be that as it may,” Ehran said angrily, “The common people will suffer for this. You won’t feel it, but they will. Issho-Ni won’t accept or support such a dangerous plan.”

The group of leaders fell into an awkward silence as Ehran and the Queen held each other’s eyes. Ehran looked on with some apprehension. He knew that Issho-Ni commanded considerable respect in Tyrman, and also had a degree of autonomy, but it was the first time he’d ever seen his mentor oppose the Queen. The other leaders, who were all sworn to obey her orders, looked down, unwilling to point out his obvious disobedience.

“Ehran,” Samuel spoke now, his voice soft. “We can come up with a way to minimize the damage.”

“Minimize, yes, but not avoid,” Ehran snapped. Now his angry gaze was directed at the Paragon. “You of all people should know why I’m fighting this. You knew my ancestor, and how much he cared for the lives of the innocents.”

Samuel’s face flushed slightly. “You think I don’t know how you feel about this? I’m trying my best to think of something. You could help instead of being stubborn.”

Enri clapped his gloved hands firmly, snapping all the attention to him and making everyone jump. “We can call the Mother’s Blessing.”

“That’s impossible,” Markus said at once, a sneer on his face. “You need four Ancients for that, cousin.”

“We have four,” Enri said at once. “We just need someone to act as the soul, and it can be done.”

“What?” The Queen was just as thrown as Markus. She stared at Enri in some incredulity. “I thought you and Samuel were the only ones with Ancient natures. Who else is within the city?”

Enri smiled reassuringly at his cousin as he lifted his left hand. Slowly as could be, he pointed to the left, at the end of the table, where Megan and Eric were standing. “Them.”

“Enri,” Ehran’s voice was slightly scornful. “What are you on about? Don’t you think I’d notice if my apprentice was an Ancient?”

Ehran let out a soft gasp of understanding. Samuel had told him months ago. When he’d created a body for him, he’d said that it had been made with an Ancient’s nature. Finally, here was the reason. Arcana had taught Samuel how to make his body, and he’d done it specifically for this purpose. It suddenly struck him how much the God of Knowledge knew and could account for.

A burst of surprised reactions and questions erupted from the leaders present. Only the Queen, Samuel, and Enri remained silent, staring across the table at the two Outworlders. Megan knew what was going to happen next, as she locked eyes with the Queen. Elena Ciayol was a Marked One, just like her distant cousin Michael. At once, her eyes gleamed with the telltale sign of Truesight. Strangely, a grin crossed her face, the same fierce, bloodthirsty grin that Lana Beran had worn.

“Samuel,” she spoke quietly, but her voice still stopped the conversation. “You have some explaining to do, don’t you? You’ve pulled a trick on all of us.”

She didn’t sound angry, and Megan and Eric noticed a matching smile on Samuel’s face. Eric could see that the Archmage had just pieced together the progression of events in the past year as well. He knew now, completely, what role Eric and Megan were needed for. He actually let out a laugh, finally relieved to see what the full plan was.

“Right,” he said, still chuckling. He paid no mind to the confusion of the others as they looked at him, still behind on the situation. “You are correct, El. There’s something I should clue you all in on. Our young friends here are very special. They’re not from Ahya. Even more, they’re just what we need.”