An hour later, I open my eyes inside my tent. My name Maur Crescendo rests on a wooden board outside. It was still dark and my instincts were awake with my senses.

“How long was I resting?” I panic.

A single light from a campfire shines outside my tent and I could hear obnoxious laughing. My bodyguards and flight leaders were making the ruckus. They were obviously gambling, choosing who would get what loot from each region among the Ryoken tribes. They especially liked their women.

“Foolish games.”

I glance at the last of my notes scribbled out with my newer ideas. I had been working on plans on obtaining a tempest for weeks, but nothing seemed to work out right in my head. I discovered that rogue tempests were not a thing. Lam Lathi tempests excelled at what they did, but they were loyal to the Broken Sun. However, dancers were a different story and they came with their own invisible protectors.

“I might obtain a tempest that way,” I think to myself.

Not only could the dancers influence the stages, they were considered sacred among many Ryoken tribes. I could use her to dance the stages for me. Killing one resonated hate from every major Ryoken tribe. If anyone killed my hostage it was sure to be followed by unrest and division. I had even witnessed one unite the Felokyle with her influence.

“What did the scouts tell you, Maur?,” I think to myself.

My scouts can't always be trusted. Sometimes they want to loot a specific area and they lie. It was best to find out the hard way about this dancer. Even with my knowledge, the temple library could never surpass real life experience.

The cloth entrance brushes over my head and I walk outside my tent.

The flickering of the campfire blurs across my eyes and I looks at a group who rises at my approach. I pull down my shaded visor. I familiarize myself with my new jet-pack and helmet, taking heavier steps as I walks toward the flames with the added weight. I stop a couple feet from the rest of the group and put my visor up again. I pull it back down over my eyes. It keeps things darker. Sweat rushes from under my helmet, only cooled by the brief rushes of night wind against my unshaven face. My plans were finalized for the meeting with Toah tomorrow.

“All of you prepare yourselves for the Felokyle. We leave in at dawn.”

My orders resonate well with everyone, except Toah.

“That’s suicide. You can't see then. We're outnumbered. What if Luer assassinates you?”

I glance with all seriousness at my friend

“Maybe Toah, but I’m throwing myself into whatever horrible situation I’ve set up for myself. I’d rather discover my fate quickly than stretch it out in hopes of getting a better one.”

Toah shakes his head. He affirms his defiance by pulling down his visor, as if he was ready to leave at a moment's notice.

“I understand, sir. However, the Ryoken will skin us alive if we walk their streets. Have you listened to anything your scouts said about the Felokyle? None of them can fly now! They had their hands chopped off.”

“My orders were straight! That's where the high priest wants to meet us. The combined might of Luer's swarm and mine should deter further aggression from the natives. I will find both things I’m looking for in the Felokyle.”

“You’ll find both things anywhere, if you look hard enough.”

For a moment, Toah stares at me with challenge. We eye each other until Toah submits with a nod. It wasn’t that he actually sought to outdo his master. Sometimes I needed to be brought back to reality. If I was not talked out of my mind from time-to-time, I would fall from my pride. As reasonable and empathetic as I could be, Toah knew me well. I had a weakness for being stuck in the mechanisms of my head.

“Fine then, Toah. You choose where I go.”

“As you wish, sir.”

In a matter of seconds, Toah throws some coins onto the gambling map below. They tilt and shimmer until they stop rolling around a city called the Felokyle. The entire group stares down at the map before I pick it up and throw it into the fire. It burns slowly, until the night lifts the ashes and smoke. To my dismay, I would keep my word. It appeared as if the group was headed into a dangerous situation.