Elnor sat at the meeting table, along with Ahri and the other Commanders. She had changed into her spare clothes, in her tent, from the rags Nevan had found in the abandoned home. Her squire had left with her dirty armor once she had told him that she was okay.

There was an empty chair in today’s meeting. Katas was dead, and there was no funeral to attend. What was left of his body was ash.

“My scouts reported that at least two Akar legions are moving towards our position,” Irun said.

“That’s good then. It means at least Akar had to pull their troops away from Ronan,” Ahri replied. “Now, we only need to focus on getting home.”

“Akar’s navy is currently near our position. We think they’ll try to cut us off if we try to flee,” said Ryuji.

“Can we carve a path through them?” Ahri asked.

“Maybe,” Ryuji replied. “We lost the majority of our destroyers last night, but we still could-”

“Sacrifice more sorcerers,” Ahri sighed. “I assume we can fit everyone onto the ships?”

“We can.”

“Some of us will have to stay,” Elnor said. “If Akar managed to bring their cannons onto the docks, then we’ll be attacked from all sides.”

Nada sighed. “Back to this, are we?” she asked rhetorically, remembering her distant memories.

“Back to that,” Ahri exhaled. “But Elnor is right.”

The rest of the Commanders nodded alongside Ahri.

“We’ll need more volunteers too. In the waters, I mean,” Irun said.

Ahri nodded. “Do we have any volunteers?”

Elnor hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand. “I’ll stay inland.”

“You have children that depend on you, Elnor,” Yenel protested.

“They’ll be taken care of,” Elnor replied.

Ahri stared at Elnor, contemplating in her mind, but let it go in the end. “Alright. Do we have any volunteers for the waters?”

“I-,” Ryuji’s voice was cut off when Nada reached to his hand from beside him. Nada looked at him with panic in her eyes. Ryuji gave her a fond smile before continuing. “I know a few master water elementalists who are more than willing to volunteer.” Nada released her breath as Ryuji finished. The other knights in the room spoke nothing of their exchange.

“Good,” Ahri said. The General turned to Commander Yenel and nodded to the woman. Yenel nodded in return. “Now, for the rest of the plans.”

Elnor was in her tent, looking at the map of the surrounding terrain. Her back was facing the entrance when it was flung open.

“I see you’re a suicide knight now?” Nevan asked, dropping the sack of armor he had been cleaning.

Elnor turned to face her squire, revealing the black line on her head. “I am.”

“And you didn’t think of telling me first?”

“I did,” Elnor said. “But I thought it would be better if you find out yourself.”

Nevan had heard the yells of the suicide knight’s adage all over the city as he washed Elnor’s armor. He had not thought anything of it. He saw knights, with black lines drawn on their foreheads, picking up their positions on the walls on his way back to Elnor’s tent. Meanwhile, the rest of the knights were boarding onto the carrier ships. Only then did he hear that ‘General Elnor’ was leading the suicide knights.

“And what about the children? Have you given them a thought? Have you?” Nevan raised his voice.

Elnor spoke softly. “You’ll get what you want. The noble thief will die, and you’ll get to leave this war behind. I just ask that-.”

“No. No. No!” Nevan marched towards Elnor and grabbed the collars of her tunic. He looked up, bringing his face close to hers. “You do not get to use that against me!”

A tear ran down Elnor’s cheek, and she took an envelope from the desk. “I just ask that you give this to Hua and Safia and protect them.” She met her squire’s black eyes. “Please,” she begged him. What she was asking him was wrong in a myriad of ways, and Elnor knew it. But she did not know who else she could trust.

Nevan stared at the letter, then back at Elnor’s grey eyes. He let go of her collars and took a step back, but he did not take the note. “You can give it to them yourself,” he said.

“I can’t,” Elnor replied, pushing the letter to Nevan. “I am a suicide knight now. I need to stay here. The rest of the army is relying on me to cover their retreat.”

“Then I’m staying with you,” Nevan replied.

“I’m ordering you to leave.”

“You’re a suicide knight now, General. You don’t get to give me an order.”

“Then as Elnor,” Elnor pleaded. “I am asking you to protect the children.”

Nevan shook his head. It was not a difficult decision. And in fact, he hated how easy it was. He had hoped that he would be able to say otherwise. “I refuse.”

“Nevan, please.”

“You don’t get to have the easy way out!” Nevan yelled. “My family is dead because of what you did. You abandoned me to be tortured.” He pointed a finger at Elnor. “You did all that for your family. You don’t get to die and leave them.”

A tear also began to run down Nevan’s cheek. Elnor did not know what to say. She had done all of that for her family. And now, she was about to die to protect them.

There was no anger when Nevan spoke next, and his voice was filled with sadness instead. “You don’t get to tell me to live a life without you in it.”

Elnor accepted what Nevan had just said, although she had hoped for otherwise. It would have been much easier if he had hated her. But she had never seen any hatred in his eyes every time she peered at his black pupils. Those dark eyes were always filled with pain. Pain that Elnor knew that she was at the source of it all.

“I made a promise to Hua,” Nevan continued. “I promised her that you would come back to her safely. And I do not intend on breaking that promise.” Nevan turned and left the tent.

Elnor stared at Nevan’s back and as the flaps of her tent closed behind him. She stood by her desk, speechless. She realized she had almost crushed the envelope in her hand.

“Die Living,” the voice of a knight yelled outside her tent.

“No,” Elnor muttered, running out of her tent. She saw Nevan kneeling not far from her tent, with a black line drawn on his forehead. “Nevan!” she called out to him.

“Bury me al-!” A cannon fireball detonated at Nevan’s position, silencing his yell.

Elnor watched her squire disappear in an explosion of fire and dust. A loud horn boomed, signaling that they were under attack.

“Suicide knights!” Elnor yelled as she ran to where she last saw Nevan. “Protect the evacuation!”

Elnor found Nevan a couple of meters away from where he was kneeling a moment ago. He was panting, and blood poured out of his mouth.

“Healer!” Elnor screamed.

Elnor searched for Nevan’s most grievous wound. His chest plate had caved in his chest, and Elnor tore the chest plate off of him with her hands. Nevan let out a painful breath. “You’re going to be okay,” she met his eyes. Elnor took her regeneration stone and placed it where Nevan’s ribs had punctured his lungs. “Healer!”

“I’m here,” a healer ran towards her. The healer placed a hand on Nevan’s chest, transmuting tenaga. “He’ll live for now, but he needs further treatment.”

“Bring him on to a ship,” Elnor ordered the healer. “And make sure he lives. You understand me?”

“Of course, General,” the healer fearfully said.

Nevan tried to protest but was unable to speak. He glared at Elnor instead as the healer lifted him.

“I’m sorry,” Elnor mouthed to Nevan and placed her letter into his trouser pocket.

Elnor turned away to face the battle, and it was the last thing Nevan saw before he lost consciousness.

Elnor ran into the battle. Akar had decided to attack earlier than they had initially promised. Elnor would make them pay with blood.

Nevan woke up on a floor mat on the deck of a ship due to a sudden pitch. He found that he could breathe normally, although it was painful. A regeneration stone was strapped onto his chest. He tried to raise himself to a sitting position, but his limbs did not oblige, and he fell back down. But Nevan remembered what had happened, and he pushed himself up again. This time with a painful groan, he managed it. A nurse rushed and knelt beside him.

“You have to lie down. Your wounds are still severe. Even with the power stones, we could not heal everyone properly,” said the nurse. He tried to push Nevan back down, but Nevan transmuted tenaga strengthening his limbs.

“Where is General Elnor?” Nevan grunted, pushing himself to stand.

“She’s with the suicide knights back in Palu. Please, you need to rest.”

Nevan watched his surrounding. Hundreds of knights with severe wounds lay around him. He turned to face the ocean and was relieved to see that Palu was not that far away. The booms of cannons reverberated around him. The sun was still high, meaning he had not been gone for long. Nevan checked to make sure his hammers were still strapped on his belt. He took a step forward and nearly buckled. But he persevered and continued to transmute tenaga, taking one step after another. Each step was easier, albeit more agonizing.

“You need rest,” the nurse tried to stop Nevan, stepping in front of him. “The masters are going to generate whirlpools soon. It’s not safe.”

Nevan backhanded the nurse with his palm, knocking the man out. He took the regeneration stones off some of the wounded he passed and did not consider the consequences. He could only think of the consequence if he was too late. He had a total of five regeneration stones, including his. He strapped the other four onto his chest and jumped off the bow and into the ocean.