Elnor stood in the snow-covered courtyard of Fort Nusa. ‘It is ironic,’ she thought. She was a thief herself not long ago, and now she was to judge the men and women that knelt before her for the same crime. ‘Why was she the one standing and not the one currently bound and frightened of their life?’ She wondered.

“Commander?” Her squire asked.

“Pardon, Ishan. What is it were you asking?” she turned to the man that stood next to her. He was covered in blood; she did not need to ask to know it was not his.

“Should I go back out?” he repeated his question. His voice may have sounded dull, but his eyes told Elnor a different story. She had ordered him to take an empty carriage and drove it back and forth the road a few kilometers away from the fort. The bandits who fell for the bait were quickly ambushed and captured.

“Go,” she said. “But return before sundown if you find no one else.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Nevan turned and gathered the contingent of knights to follow his carriage on horseback a few hundred meters behind him.

Nevan sat on the driver's seat of the wagon. He drove the carriage through the road between the frozen forest. He stared at the falling snowflakes and the animals that occasionally crossed his path. Unlike him, the animals were free to go wherever they wished. He was trapped in this city and had gotten more desperate for a possible lead every single day for the past five days.

The sound of a twig breaking from inside the forest alerted Nevan. He turned his eyes towards the direction of the sound and met eyes with a lone bandit. The bandit was wearing white, making it difficult to see if Nevan was not looking carefully. A few more footsteps could be heard from all directions. He was surrounded by four of them, each wielding a different weapon.

Nevan jumped off his seat and dashed into the forest through a gap, his black coat making it easy for his pursuers to track. The bandits followed, leaving the wagon behind. When he was far enough from the road not to be heard, he turned towards the pursuers. He knelt and leaned to the side, avoiding the two-handed ax that was coming down towards him. The ax got stuck on the hard ground, and its wielder struggled to pull it free. Nevan began to rose and rapidly hammered up the man’s arm, which still held the stuck ax, before finally striking his face.

The second and third attackers came at Nevan together. Nevan turned his body towards the left, avoiding the bolt that the fourth attacker fired. The two who were rushing at him bore mismatched plated armor, scavenged from the knights they had killed. They wore no helmets, and that was their mistake. Nevan’s hammers made short work of their unprotected head.

The fourth member finished reloading her crossbow and fired. Nevan dodged and moved close. He grabbed her on the waist and slammed her down onto the hard ground. She dropped her crossbow and tried to reach for the sheathed dagger on her belt but stopped once Nevan placed the spike tip of his hammer on her neck. “Stop,” Nevan’s muffled voice ordered.

The attacker did not respond, and she simply placed her empty hands to the sides.

“You’re not bandits. Who are you?” Nevan asked.

“Just do it,” the remaining member answered defiantly.

“Answer me,” Nevan pushed the sharp tip against her skin this time.

“We’re thieves.” Her eyes were wide, and her voice sounded mad or even insane.

Nevan slapped her face with his free hand. He could tell that the people he just killed were not bandits. They had no means to transport any stolen goods and had chased after him when he ran into the forest. The woman coughed before spitting her blood at his face. He did not flinch. “Who are you?” he asked again.

“We are the ones that hunt those who are guilty,” she smiled with a bloody grin.

“Like the noble thief?” he asked. His heart thumped in his chest, and he urged it to calm. He did not want to get too excited, only to be greeted by disappointment later.

“Ding ding ding,” the woman imitated a bell.

Nevan shook his head. “You’re not the noble thief.”

“We are all the noble thief,” she said in return. “Since the thief disappeared, someone has to take their place.”

“Then you’re doing a terrible job. The thief does not go after innocent merchants.” He added another word after a pause. “Usually.”

“Innocent?” the woman chuckled. “No merchants are innocent, you poor soul. You would have known if you were one. But you aren’t, are you? You’re even worse, a knight.” She spat. “You force our children into war because they were born with powers they never asked for. The noble thief would’ve gutted you by now for that sin.” She laughed.

Nevan slammed a hammer onto her face, ending the woman’s laughter. “I want to see her try,” he answered. He touched his inner tunic and felt the karambits Nirvana gave him. The knives always appeared whenever he called to them with his thoughts. “I have a gift prepared only for her.”

Nevan returned to the wagon, the knights who were following him still nowhere to be seen. He removed the black coat and facemask he currently wore and put on his white jacket instead. He lashed the reins of the horses and moved on.

The next group of bandits appeared on sleighs, skidding to a halt in front of Nevan’s carriage. He blew on the whistle attached to the driver seat, and the other knights came galloping on their horses to apprehend the thieves. He had done this every day since he received orders to clear bandits of the road. He would face a group on his own and question them of the noble thief before killing them all. The following two groups that came onto his path, he would blow the whistle instead.

Elnor watched as a dozen more bandits were brought into the Fort. She waited for her squire to pass through the gates before calling him. “Ishan,” she said.

“Ma’am,” he replied and made his way to her.

“Follow me.” She led him towards her office, closing the door behind them. “Sit down, please.”

“Is everything alright, Commander?” Nevan asked as he took a seat.

“I just read the report that Sir Coden wrote when he and a few knights went to the prison. Tell me, Ishan. Did you have to kill whoever it was in such a manner?” she asked gravely.

“He was the leader of the Sparrows, ma’am. He had both killed and ordered the killing of knights. The sentencing for such a crime is death. Isn’t it?”

Elnor met her squire’s grey eyes. She remembered how eager he was to take down the prison himself and how his eyes widened when Sir Zirak mentioned the Sparrows. “Hanging him, I can accept. But mangling his face and breaking almost every bone in his body seemed overzealous. Don’t you agree?”

“Is this going to be reported to the Capital?” he asked. Elnor saw concern in his expression.

“Yes,” she answered honestly.

Her squire nodded understandingly. “War hammers, ma’am. He kept attacking even after I hit him a few times. I didn’t realize the damage until I struck his face.”

“And stripping him?” she raised an eye.

“I liked his coat,” he answered casually.

Elnor took a deep breath and begun writing down a message on a piece of paper. Once she finished, she rolled it into a scroll and sealed it with wax. She looked back at her squire, who was looking at the scroll in thought. “Now it's between us, Ishan,” she said to him, and he nodded to her words. “Why did you kill that man in such a manner?”

“He used the name of the noble thief to recruit youngsters for his gain,” he answered her. “And he also threatened to keep sending men to harras the knights in this fort.” He did not give her the whole truth.

The fact was that the baron had initially spat threats before resorting to bribery. Nevan recalled the sight of the pitiful man, searching for any straw to grasp onto while cradling his broken foot. Nevan knew how easily a man like Baron Yusuf, who had many connections, could follow up their threat. When neither threat nor bribery had worked, the baron had finally turned to beg for mercy instead.

“Tell me the full truth,” Elnor said, sensing her squire was holding back. “I know when someone is trying to prevaricate,” she stated.

Nevan met Elnor’s eyes. He knew she was lying, that she could not tell the difference between spoken lies and truths. “He threatened you specifically, Commander,” he said to her.

She did not react to his statement. “Did he knew you were my squire?”

“No.”

She closed her eyes. “You don’t have to worry about me, Ishan. I can take care of myself.” She let out a breath. "And I’m the one who’s suppose to look after you.”

“I know, Commander,” he replied. “But can’t we watch each other’s backs?”

She nodded, “We can, Ishan,” and smiled softly. “And thank you for having my back.”

“Always, Commander.” He returned her smile.

“One more thing,” she said before dismissing him. “We’ve received our orders, be prepared to leave tomorrow at dawn, and tell Qamar to be ready by then.”

“Where are we going?”

“Fort Badai, on the edge of our southern border.”

“I see.” He thought about the name of the fort. “Which city will that be in?”

“The city of Koran. However, the fort is located far away from any town. I hope you enjoyed your time here in Fort Nusa. There are only mountains where we’re heading.” Elnor turned back to her work, writing down the last letter. More work could be done, but she decided to leave it to whoever was replacing her tomorrow. Her squire remained seated.

“What is it?” she asked him, folding the letter.

“Commander,” he paused.

“Spit it out, Ishan.” She said as she melted the hot wax.

“Do you want to head into town this evening?”

“That’ll be inappropriate,” she said calmly, stamping the seal of the letter harder than needed.

“I understand,” Nevan said and turned to leave.

“On second thought, I have a letter that I need to deliver to the post office. I could use the company.” She said before he could leave. “Meet me at the gates in fifteen minutes, and don’t wear that coat,” she pointed at the blood-soaked one he currently wore. “I’ll lend you one of mine.”

“Thank you, Commander,” said Nevan before he left.

Nevan made his way to the gate wearing a simple tunic and trousers. He had just finished cleaning himself and is now shivering due to the cold temperature. He lit the lantern he had brought, warming his hands near the small candle fire.

Not long later, Elnor joined him at the gates. She handed Nevan a similar brown coat to the one she currently wore. “Leave your sword. I don’t want the townsfolk to know that we are knights.” He removed the sheathed sword from his belt, leaving it by the gate. Nevan did not see any weapons on her.

“My hammers?” he asked.

“You could bring it with you if you could keep it hidden.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“And don’t address me as Commander while we’re there. Elnor will be fine.”

“Understood.”

They took a pair of horses from the stables. The town was not far away, only half an hour on horseback. They left their horses on one of the inns’ stables on the edge of town, where workers were setting up a stage for a play.

“What is it do you want to do in town, Ishan?”

“Buy a new coat from one of the boutiques. The one I have isn’t practical.”

“Do you have the money for that? I can lend you some.”

“No, thank you, Elnor,” her name felt wrong in his tongue. “I have some.”

“Alright then, I’m heading towards the post office. Can you find your way?”

“I’ll manage.”

“We’ll meet again here in an hour, but we should be able to find each other in this small town easily. I’ll see you then.” She turned to leave and make her way.

Elnor did not go to the post office directly, visiting one of the local blacksmiths first. The blacksmith was small when compared to the ones in Sutra. Weapons hung behind the counter, on the forge’s walls. A man was hammering on a metal ingot, shaping it into a sword.

“Good evening,” the boy at the front counter greeted her. “How may I help you?”

Elnor flinched back, surprised to see the boy. She could only see the top of the boy’s head from the other side of the tall counter.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” said Elnor.

“Give me a second,” the boy replied, lifting himself onto a tall stool so she could see him. “That’s better. Hi,” He waved his hand at her. The boy had green eyes, short brown hair, and freckles.

“Hi,” she greeted back. “I was wondering if your shop would be interested in buying used weapons?”

“Oh, we buy loads of weapons,” the boy was cut off by the old man who was forging.

“Go back inside, Ren. I’ll deal with this customer,” said the older man to the boy. The boy smiled at Elnor before hopping down his chair and disappeared.

“You have a weapon for sale, lady?” the man asked with a big smile.

“Yes, but off the record.”

The man raised both of his eyebrows. “We run an honest business here. We don’t do that.”

“I’m sure you do,” she replied evenly.

The man grunted happily in return. “Let me see it.”

Elnor removed her coat and unhooked the sheathed blade from her back. She handed the short sword to the blacksmith. The blacksmith’s eyes glistened as he unsheathed Serendipity. She found the name improper when having considered what she had used it for. It was thin and sharp, with an elegant swirling pommel. The blacksmith gently placed a finger on the blade of the sword and gave himself a small cut. “Fabidium steel,” he stared at the expensive sword with awe.

“Will you take it?” she asked hurriedly.

“Two gold, that’s all I have. It’s a massive undercut, but you won’t find a place that can afford it while keeping the sale off the records.”

“Sold.” She did not care about the money.

Nevan exited the boutique. He bought himself a more practical coat this time. It cost him almost twice more than his old coat, but he told himself the waterproof coat would last him much longer. He made his way towards the post office, but the direction that the merchants around gave him seemed to lead him into circles. He passed a blacksmith, eyeing the weapons on display, and froze. There it was, the swirling silver pommel that had haunted him many nights. There was no blade, but he would never forget the weapon that pierced him the very night his life had ended, and his nightmare had begun.

“That weapon!” he ran to the shop and shouted.

“What is it, lad?” the blacksmith snarled. He had been melting a blade on the furnace when Nevan’s yell shocked him.

“That pommel,” he pointed at the swirling silver. “Where did you get it?”

The man looked towards the pommel and rubbed his chin with two fingers as if trying to recall where he had received it. “I’m not sure. It's been here a long time. Are you interested in it?” he smiled at the proposition.

“I just want to know where did you find that. Did you buy it off of someone? Who sold it to you and when?” Nevan asked hastily.

The blacksmith gave an odd look to the manic man that currently stood at his shop’s counter. “I don’t remember, lad. It’s been a while.”

“Please!” Nevan yelled, grabbing the man’s shirt. “I’ll buy the information from you,” he whispered, leaning into the man’s ear.

The man pushed Nevan’s hands lightly off of him. “Look, lad. I won’t say no to coins, but I won’t give you wrong information either. I have a reputation to uphold,” the man said gently, trying to calm the insane stranger.

“Do you really not know?” Nevan asked disappointedly, a little calmer now.

“No lad, I’m sorry. That design itself is quite common; there are many swords with that pommel.” The man lied, saying whatever he could so Nevan would leave.

“I see,” Nevan said as he left the shop, his expression turning indifferent.

Nevan waited by the post office, looking up towards the falling snowflakes, with Elnor’s spare coat in one arm. He smiled when he saw Elnor exited the building.

“I hope I didn’t make you wait long,” she smiled in return. “Why didn’t you wait inside?”

“I was testing out my new coat,” he lifted his shoulders, and the melted ice slid off of the grey coat’s smooth surface.

“Practical,” she nodded. “Do you have anything else you want to do?”

“Nope,” he shook his head.

“Me neither,” she agreed. “Let’s head back then.”

They walked side by side through the busy street, enjoying the bustling noise of the town when they heard a cry.

“Please!” a voice of a woman shouted. They ran towards the source of the yell and found a woman currently being evicted from her home. “I don’t have anywhere else to go!”

The woman’s belongings were being thrown out of the small hut by the landlord, who shook his head. “You haven’t paid your rent.”

“Please, just give me more time,” the woman begged.

Nevan placed his left hand on one of his hammers, ready to stop what was happening when he felt Elnor hold his other hand.

“Ishan, don’t,” she said softly.

“Why not?” he retorted but kept his voice low.

“What you’re about to do isn’t right.”

“And this is?” he pointed towards the woman currently being evicted.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “Answer this, Ishan. Can you tell me for sure that the woman hasn’t been given extra time to pay her rent? How sure are you that the woman isn’t in the wrong?”

Nevan did not know how to answer. He just stared at Elnor.

“Look at the landord, Ishan. Take a good look at him.”

Nevan turned to look at the man, and what he found was unexpected. “He’s skin and bones,” Nevan muttered. He continued to stare at the malnourished landlord. The man, who had the sharp cheekbones of a starving person, held a sad expression as he removed the woman’s belongings. “He doesn’t have any money to buy food.”

“It’s a possibility,” said Elnor.

“It doesn’t feel right to do nothing.”

“It doesn’t. But we could end up wronging an innocent person if we do.” She recalled her numerous victims. She had always tried to make sure her victims were guilty, but she had increasingly doubted her judgment recently.

“I understand,” he said, and Elnor felt his grip tightened before letting go. Nevan walked towards the woman, who had begun gathering her meager belongings. He gave her one of his coins, and she cried as she accepted it.

“Thank you,” the woman sobbed as Nevan walked back to Elnor.

Elnor nodded to him, and the two continued their way towards the inn where they had left their horses. “Where did you get a gold coin?” she asked her squire.

“I took some from the bandits we captured,” he answered.

They did not say anything after, retreating to their familiar silence. As they approached the inn, they saw many people gathered around the stage the workers had prepared. They both stop and watched the play, neither of them realizing the other was doing the same but for different reasons.

“Bless the noble thief!” a group of actors, pretending to be villagers, shouted in delight. They all held a bag full of coins and smiled and danced on one side of the stage. The crowd cheered.

On the other side was a man wearing luxurious articles of clothing, escorted off the stage by two actors acting as knights. “Curse the noble thief!” he shouted as he exited. A round of boos could be heard from the crowd.

Then suddenly, a man wearing a black cloak and red mask ran through the crowd and onto the stage. “I, the noble thief, will always be here to help the poor!” he yelled. Another round of cheers from the mass of people and actors on stage followed his shout. The actor dressed as the noble thief took a hat from one of the villagers and moved through the crowds. The people around threw coins into the hat.

Elnor frowned at the sight of the cheering crowd and actors. She was no hero, just another thief, another criminal. It reminded her of why she became the noble thief, to make the people who felt abandoned feel hope. Yet now, the memory of her mistake only brought her nightmares. Tonight she had left another major part of the noble thief behind. And this night itself, the memory of the noble thief came to haunt her.

“Let’s go,” she said to her squire, who she saw was watching the play just as intensely as she was. He turned to her and nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Their journey was relatively quiet. Only the trotting of the horses could be heard. They made small talks about what they saw in the town. Elnor told him about Hua and Safia and the letter she had paid to be delivered to the two girls. Nevan had joyfully asked questions about the children in return. It reminded him of how he used to talk about Nalia, and he felt happy for Elnor. Neither of them mentioned the show. Elnor stared up at the stars as they made their way, watching them shine on her.

‘The noble thief will always be there to help the poor,’ Nevan thought as he laid on his bed, clenching the sheets tightly. ‘At the cost of the rich. Even innocent ones.’

Elnor rode on her horse through the mountains. The wind was calmer the higher they went. They did not encounter any bandits on their way. Any bandits that had not been killed or detained had decided to keep a low profile for now. They were on the road for most of the day and night. The message she had received from Ahri had told her to come as soon as possible. Most nights were just Elnor and Nevan talking. Qamar would only join them for dinner, deciding that spending time with the carriage horses was preferable to the two knights. The knights preferred it that way anyway.

The sky was dark when they neared Fort Badai. The green and purple aurora could be seen clearly in the black night. “It’s magnificent,” Nevan said to Elnor as he watched the light rays.

Elnor watched the colorful strip of fluorescent light moving about in the night. “It is,” she replied.

“Have you ever wondered what’s out there?” her squire asked.

She never thought about his question before, always too busy with her hectic life. “The gods maybe,” she answered.

“Do you believe in gods?” Nevan looked to her from the side of her horse.

“No,” she answered, continuing to be amazed by the colors.

“Me neither,” he turned back towards the sky.

“It’s crazy to think, isn’t it? That no matter how far apart we are from another, we still look up to the same sky?” she asked.

“No,” he shook his head. “It makes the large distance feel much closer, in a way.”

“We’re here,” Qamar said to them from the carriage behind.

Elnor looked to Fort nearby. It was loud, and she could hear the sounds of knights shouting and moving about in the late night. She galloped her horse to the gate, leaving Nevan and Qamar behind to catch up. She showed her commander’s badge towards the guards in front, who immediately shouted for the gate to be opened. Nevan reached her as the gate opened.

“Commander Elnor,” the guard saluted. “The General ordered me to escort you to her as soon as you arrived.”

“What happened here?” Elnor asked the guard. She saw the busy movement of knights carrying the injured on stretchers. Healers were rushing everywhere and pushed to their limits to save the severely wounded. The ones that were in no significant danger were given regeneration stones instead.

“An attack, Commander. Would you please follow me? The General had gathered all the Commanders. I’m sure she’ll provide you with more information than I can.”

“Take me,” she urged the guard. “Ishan, help carry the wounded,” she ordered her squire.

Nevan heard Commander Elnor’s order before she left. He had nodded, but his attention was caught elsewhere. He saw men and women screaming as the healers tried to save them. Some of the healers themselves were already bleeding from their noses, only stopping once their ears and eyes bled too. On one side sat knights covered in ash and blood, staring at him with dead eyes. He smelled the scents of faeces, dead bodies, blood, and sick. He ran towards a corner and ejected his meal. The sight and smell of dead bodies never bothered him before, and he wondered why it did this time. ‘Was it the much higher numbers of screams and smell of the dead that simply overwhelmed his senses?’ he asked himself.

“I need help!” a knight, carrying a wounded on a stretcher, shouted.

“I’m coming!” Nevan yelled back, wiping his face with his sleeves.

Elnor knocked on the General’s office before entering. She had heard the busy voices of the Commanders discussing from outside the door. The voices stopped when she entered.

“General Ahri,” she saluted.

“Commander Elnor,” Ahri nodded with a grave face. “Take a seat. We have much to discuss.”

Elnor took the empty seat on the most left, next to Commander Nada. All the Commanders of the third army were here, along with two others she had never met. They all had anxious expressions.

“I’ll catch you up, Commander,” Ahri said to Elnor. “The army of Akar is beyond our southern borders, and they don’t seem to want to wait for the winter to pass.”

“In the South? But the kingdom of Lukar is there.” Elnor asked, surprised by the news.

“The kingdom of Lukar is no more,” Ahri worriedly said. “They have either surrendered or got conquered. And we are Akar’s next target.” She lifted a hand to stop Elnor from asking further questions. “We don’t know how Akar managed it, but they were able to somehow make weapons that can transmute tenaga. The wounded outside experienced it themselves.”

“Did Akar attack?” asked Elnor.

“No,” Ahri replied. She held her open palms against her chest. “We did. The previous Commander of this fort fell for their bait and decided to order an attack in the winter. We all arrived a few hours ago to be greeted by the screams of the wounded.” She snarled.

“And the previous Commander?” asked Elnor.

“Dismissed. That’s what he is,” Ahri hissed. Ahri sat down, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “The survivors only mentioned that they saw a large stream of flame coming towards them from massive metal tubes and thankfully nothing else. We can be sure that the overgrown weapons cannot move quickly as they had resorted to baiting our knights out rather than bringing it here.” Ahri signaled to Commander Yenel.

“We have the resources to defend the fort for a while, but I’m not sure how long we’ll last if we don’t start thinning out their numbers,” Yenel said.

“How many men does the enemy have?” Elnor asked.

“Our scouts should be on their way back here with the exact numbers, but the knights who attacked estimated around eighty to one hundred thousand,” Yenel replied.

“I still don’t understand how Akar managed to gather these number of knights,” complained Commander Ryuji.

“Neither do we, Commander,” General Ahri replied.

Elnor tried to imagine that many troops and was unable to fathom the large amount. The Commanders sat in silent thought.

“So Commanders,” Ahri addressed them all. “Any ideas?”

A few hours later, Elnor exited the office with the other commanders after the briefing. She immediately made her way to the courtyard, where she found her squire helping to carry some of the wounded. “Ishan!” she called out.

“Commander!” he placed the stretcher down beside a healer. He ran to Elnor and saluted with a bloody fist. “What is happening?”

“We are going to be under attack. We are at war.” She said gravely and placed both of her hands on his upper arms, squeezing them tight. “We expect the enemy to attack us tomorrow when the sun rises.”

Nevan nodded and looked around at the knights moving about.

“Ishan, look at me,” Elnor said to her squire. “War is not something you have experienced, and I thought I had more time to explain to you. It won’t be like hunting bandits.”

“I’m sure I can handle it,” he smirked at her. She knew his confidence was an act from the way his eyes would wander towards the screams and his quick, shallow breaths.

“Ishan, I’m serious!” she urgently said. The smile on her squire’s face disappeared as she met his grey eyes. The grey eyes that had been engraved in her mind. “You will not be under my command tomorrow. If you are ever sent into a battle, it will be cramped, squeezed by the knights surrounding you. There won’t be any space for you to maneuver. You will smell blood and death even harsher than what you’ve seen here. Your ears will ring from the sound of explosions around you. I know you are strong, but you will have to be more robust than you have ever been. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Commander.” He said confidently, trying to reassure Elnor.

Elnor nodded at her confident squire. “Don’t die, Ishan. That’s my order to you, survive.”