“What do you know about people like me?” The armored woman asked.

“Soldiers?” I asked, “You are good at stabbing people. And punching them. And-”

“She means Hemomancers, Hetis.” My brother said, rolling his eyes. “They aren’t all soldiers.”

“Most are warriors, though.” She said, “Fighting is one of the best ways we know how to teach the art.”

“I know that Hemomancers are good at stabbing people. And punching them.” I corrected.

“Yes. They are. But do you know how the power works? Did your mother teach you anything?”

“She tried, once. But it didn't work. She didn't know how to explain how to do something she'd started doing by accident.”

“That is... common, among first generation blooded.” The woman in armor said, “For some, the subconscious parts of Hemomancy are as easy as breathing.”

“Is it like that for you?” Gedric asked.

“It wasn’t. Not at first. But I am not first generation, so it matters less.”

“Which generation are you?”

The armored woman stilled, and started counting silently to herself.

“Thirty Second.”

My jaw dropped. The Empire had been around for more than a millenia, and thirty two generations probably wasn’t longer than that, but it still sounded close.

“So you probably know lots of awesome secret spells, right? Can I learn them?” My brother asked.

“They are not spells. I am no streetside entertainer. They are Techniques, and they are not shared. Even if they were, it is likely they would not help you.”

“Why not?”

“The number of Hemomancy Techniques discovered that someone from outside the same family can learn safely can be numbered on one hand.”

“Why is that?”

“Someone knows. Not I.”

“I want to get tested first.” Gedric said, stretching like he was preparing for a run. “What do I do?”

“Give me your hands.” She said. My brother did so.

She held his wrists with her now un-gauntleted hands, placing her thumbs on the cluster of veins directly below his palms.

“I am going to teach you a sentence. You need not speak it out loud, but I want you to repeat it in your mind. When you get to the end, start over, and think it over again. Understand?”

Gedric nodded.

“I am a drop of water. When I touch another, I am pulled.”

...

Gedric started to squirm.

“What?” The armored woman asked.

“That’s it?” He said, giving her a strange look.

“Yes.”

“What’s it do?”

“Nothing. It’s a sentence.”

“Uh.”

“Think of the sentence. Say it in your head. Do nothing else.”

“Okay?”

Gedric got a constipated look on his face as he concentrated. The woman closed her eyes, continuing to press her thumbs on his wrists.

A minute passed.

Two.

Gedric fidgeted.

“You Pass.”

“Wait, what? How?”

“You thought the phrase, and your blood flowed backwards.”

“It did? Cool! Wait, isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yes, but it was only for a beat, and only near my thumbs. Worst case, you get a small bruise on your wrist in a few minutes.”

“That was anticlimactic.” I remarked.

Gedric stuck his tongue out at me.

“Was not. I have magic powers.”

“Oh yeah? My turn. This is what the main character’s power reveal looks like.”

I shoved my brother out of the way and presented my arms to the military woman.

“You remember the phrase?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“Go ahead and start.”

I am a drop of water. When I touch another, I am pulled.

I am a drop of water. When I touch someone else, I am pulled.

I am a drop of water. When I touch another, I am bored.

Her hands are super rough. Doesn’t she wear gloves all the time? Like, why even bother when you had callouses this thick? They’d probably stop a blade by themselves.

I am a drop of bored. When I’m bored, I am bored.

I am a drop of piss. When I touch the toilet seat, I am a mistake.

“Are you thinking the phrase?”

“Uh, yes?”

She tapped my wrist.

“Sorry.”

I am a drop of water. When I touch another, I am pulled.

I am a drop of water. When I touch another, I am pulled.

...

After an eternity, the woman spoke again.

“You pass too.”

“Nice heroic power reveal.” My brother quipped.

“It’s fine, this is like... that part of the story where the hero finds out they have to go on a journey thing. Not the ‘whoa, this guy is so powerful and magic!’ part. I just misread the situation.”

The plated woman’s eyes narrowed.

“You both should take this more seriously.” She said, “The Imperial Army is not a place for dreaming children.”

“Actually, that’s a good point. Are we even old enough to enlist?” I asked.

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“Yes, then. At least for the Hemomancer division. A bit older than usual, actually.”

“Really?”

“Most are twelve, and are sent to be trained by their family. Anyone who graduates from the Academy is required to do some service, but the... side effects of Hemomancy usually make them better suited to command positions. Like your mother.”

“Uh, side effects? Nobody said anything about that before we did the test.” Gedric said.

“Relax.” She said, “They’re almost all beneficial, and they won’t start to appear until you’re well into training. A handful of minutes doing the most basic of basic techniques would do less than nothing. Literally.”

“So what now?” I asked.

“You make your choice. Stay, or Leave?”

“Not much of a choice.” Gedric grumbled.

“No.” she said. “I apologize for that, but this is how the law works. I cannot enforce it unevenly.”

“Can we think about it for a bit?” I said, rubbing the spot where her fingers had been pressed on my wrist.

“I will come back in two hours, to either escort you to our ship, or to the orphanage.”

“Okay.”

The armored woman nodded, looking satisfied, and exited the house, scraping open the back door. I closed it behind her, leaving the behemoth to find her way out of the garden herself.

Gedric collapsed on the floor, sighing the whole way down.

“Well, this is sudden.” He said.

“Yup.”

“What if we like, get stabbed, or something?”

My brother rolled over onto his stomach, pressing his cheek against the warm, smooth wood.

“War’s over.” He said. “Chances are low.”

“She said fighting was how they taught Hemomancy. We’ll get hurt.”

“Got hurt at the orphanage too, remember? Can’t be much worse.”

“I think it can be, Gedric. They’d be training us for war.” I shot back. “You know, the thing that people die in? In large droves?”

“Yeah.” He said. “I don’t even want to work for the people who got Mom and Dad killed.”

“They might not be dead.” I said, frowning.

“They’re dead, Het. We’ve had this conversation.”

“What even makes a whole city disappear like that?”

“A Bloodbeast, maybe. Some deep sea monster in the bay?”

“Maybe the Savages got wind of the war and abducted them or something.”

“Maybe.”

I sat backwards on one of the wooden chairs in front of the fireplace.

“This is fucked.” I said.

“Yup.”

“I don’t really want to leave.”

“We could just run.” He said.

“And go where?”

“South somewhere. A big city that’s easy to get lost in and easy to steal in. Jur, maybe?”

“We wouldn’t have a house like this. Not even a place to sleep, probably. We’d be on the streets.”

My brother groaned.

“I really don’t care what we do, but dude, if you’re going to talk me out of every alternative option, lets just go get on the fucking boat already.”

I sighed.

“This is fucked.”

“Yup.”

“I guess we should pack.” I said.

“Yup.”

It’s just joining the military. It can’t be that bad, right?

There wasn’t much to pack. Clothing that we stuffed in our packs. A bit of jerky that we kept around the house. I put mom’s old dagger - a piece she was given when she awoke her blood, but hadn't been used in combat - in the pack too.

“Do you think she can really read our minds?” Gedric asked.

“Absolutely.” I said.

“What if it’s not mind reading, and it’s, like, she can only tell when we’re lying?”

“It’s possible. Dunno how that would work, though.”

Gedric shrugged, carefully folding an old, tattered map of the Empire and placing it in his pocket. I recognized it as one of Dad’s.

“We don’t know how any of this works.”

There was a knock on the back door. I walked over and opened it. Sure enough, the armored woman had returned.

We stared at each other for a moment.

“Do you have a name, by the way?” I asked.

“Katherine. Yours?”

“Hetis. That’s Gedric.”

“Nice to meet you both.”

“I’d say the same, but you just forcefully enlisted me and my brother, and told us to abandon our childhood home.” Gedric said, over my shoulder.

“Yeah.” I agreed. “That part sucked.”

“Again, I apologize for that.”

“Then why are you doing it anyways?”

“Because orders are orders.”

“If someone ordered you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?”

“If the Ambassador asked me to?” she replied. “Yes.”

I looked at her, dumbfounded.

“That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard anyone say, ever. And I live with Gedric.”

“Hey!”

“If you knew the Ambassador, you would feel the same way,” Katherine said, “In fact, let’s go take you two to meet him. He wanted to ‘make sure you wouldn’t dishonor him’ on the way back.”

I shared a look with my brother.

“He said that?” Gedric said.

“Wait, your boss is an Ambassador?” I said, simultaneously.

Ambassadors were, as far as I was aware, extremely uncommon. They were the type of people you heard rumors about, rather than ever meeting in person. Each is appointed by the Emperor himself and were trusted, in some part, to speak on his behalf.

They also mostly came from the Major Bloodlines - the Bloodlines who were in charge of an entire Domain, like Jirou, or Surumi. That meant they were turbo-ultra-mega-rich. I gulped.

“Great.” Gedric muttered. “I’m sure his ego will be a healthy size.”

“Ged! She works for him! Stop trying to get stabbed!”

Katherine coughed. “Please refrain from insulting my lord, or I will have to restrain you.”

“Sorry.” I said, apologizing for my brother.

“Apology accepted. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.” I said.

Gedric nodded.

It didn’t take that long to return to the docks. My brother and I led, on request of Katherine, seeing as we knew the city better.

“Is your boss the purple robed guy?” Gedric asked.

“He does frequently wear purple, yes. It’s the color of his family.”

“We saw him punch through a wall, or kick through it, or something. In the market this morning.”

Katherine sighed. “Yes. He does that, sometimes.”

“Who were the people he was capturing?” I asked.

“I’m not at liberty to say.” She said, “But, you will likely find out on the way back to the Capital. They will be on our ship. The Ambassador will have an appearance at an event with them, north of here.”

“What kind of weird-ass ship carries prisoners, fresh recruits, and one of the most powerful people in the Empire at the same time?” Gedric said.

“That kind.”

Katherine pointed towards the south end of the docks. It was far, but I could catch sight of the sails. Three masts, covered in hanging, bright, white cloth, on what had to be one of the largest ships I’d ever seen come to port in Byras. As we approached, I got a better appreciation for the behemoth of a cruiser.

The entire vessel was built of some sort of sturdy, dark rosewood, gilded occasionally above where time and ocean was less likely to wear it down. I could count at least two levels of windows on the outside of the ship, meaning the boat likely had three floors, minimum. On the back of the ship, I could see it had a second viewing platform below the main deck.

The figurehead was an intricate carving of an owl, its massive wings raised backwards in a V-shape that melded into the railing of the ship, talons pointed downwards like it was aiming to steal a shark from the sea. Implanted in the eyes of the owl were a pair of gigantic purple amethysts, the shade matching the color of the Ambassador’s robes I had seen that morning.

We were led by Katherine to the boarding plank, which was likely the second most expensive piece of wood I had ever walked on, from the carving, onto the most expensive piece of wood I had ever walked on. On the railings were more carvings of owls, small, wooden figures with more purple gems embedded as eyes. There was one every five feet or so. I tried to count them but got dizzy at the amount of money it must’ve cost after I hit twenty.

The inside of the boat was guarded by a door with a handle that looked like it was made of solid gold, because of course it was, and opened to a dining room.

The wooden floor of the room was covered in an elaborate carpet of purple and gold, with a small table and set of chairs occupying the center. A second armored figure, like Katherine and the ones I'd seen at the docks earlier that day, was standing at the entrance to a second door on the other end of the room. His chainmail hood draped around his shoulders, sporting a face was very similar to the woman who had brought us here. They shared both hair and eye color, brown and silver-grey, as well as a pair of noses that were small and close to their faces.

He saluted lazily to Katherine.

“Are you two related?” I blurted, before I could stuff my foot in my mouth.

“We are.” He said. His accent was similar, too, with the word ‘are’ flattening and shortening, the W of ‘we’ becoming more of a V sound.

Katherine ignored the small-talk. “We need to talk to the Ambassador. Reparations related.”

The guard glanced at us.

“Blooded?” He asked.

She nodded.

He walked towards us, before speaking in a hushed tone.

“His mood isn’t the best. The chase in the market bored him, and he’s having to do paperwork.”

Katherine glanced down at my brother and I.

“Some rules, before we go in.” She said, “Do not speak without being spoken to. Address him by his title only. Do not make eye contact with the Owl.”

I nodded carefully. I looked to my Brother, who made a similar affirmation.

As we walked towards the door, questions bounced through my head.

What happens if this goes poorly?

Where did all the gems come from?

What owl?

Katherine adjusted her armor before tapping on the door with grace that was somewhere between cautious and reverent, like she was afraid that knocking too loudly would cause her to be cursed.

“Come in.” A voice answered.

We followed her in, and I distantly noticed Katherine saluting. but was more than preoccupied by the sight in front of me. With this, the last of my questions was answered.

The first thing I noticed upon entering was the owl.

The bird was massive, probably sitting at half my height upon its golden perch. The feathers of the beast were a reddish brown, almost taking on a maroon coloring near the wingtips. The owl had a face that reminded me of the horned owls I'd seen brought through Byras on the rare trading ship with exotic animals.

But despite the similarities, it was distinct: it had a third ‘horn’ of feathers in the center of its head, forming an almost trident-like shape upon its crown. It matched the carvings on the ship. And, frankly, it looked pissed. I made sure to not look it in the eyes, as instructed.

It sat within a cage of iron, watching. Waiting.

It took me a moment to tear my gaze away from the large, scary predator to glance around the rest of the room, but I did. The room was the same rose build I'd seen on the outside of the ship, covered in the immaculately lacquered wood. Bookshelves covered the room, prohibitively expensive pieces of knowledge stocked back to back like they were cheap drink on Wet Riley’s booze shelf. To the owner, space came at a larger premium than the cost of the paper within.

At the center of the room was a desk, and at the desk was a man. One I recognized. The purple-robed man from earlier. The one who had punched through a wall, strangled a pair for children, and had a cool sword.

“It’s him! Purple guy!” Gedric whisper-exclaimed.

I poked him to make him shut up.

The Ambassador remained sitting at the desk, not looking up from the piece of parchment he was articulating on with a quill.

“Katherine.” He said.

“Sir.”

“Report.”

“A pair of twins, sir. Original report mentioned only the mother was Vanished, but was incorrect. Father was a sailor contracted for transport, and was also Vanished.”

The man in purple finally looked up from his work, looking annoyed. He rested his quill in the inkwell, with fingers delicate and spindly. He was less built than I had thought in the market, looking the part of a desk clerk with his pale skin and cared-for moustache that made him look like he was perpetually frowning.

Well, if desk clerks had purple eyes. That glowed.

“You.” He gestured towards me.

“Me? Uh, sir Ambassador?”

“Yes.” He said. “How do you feel about Jirou’s Domain?”

“Um, I’m not sure what you mean, Ambassador.”

“Do you like it here? Is it home? How do you feel about the Jirou Bloodline?”

“Well, it’s where I live, I guess. I don’t really know anyone from the Jirou Bloodline, personally, but Miss Katherine here said that they were the ones who made the Savage War continue, so they sound pretty shit. Uh, Ambassador, sir.”

The man snorted.

“That will do. We will be leaving tomorrow morning. Katherine,”

She saluted.

“We will need a few more, but they do not need to be from Byras. We can pick them up at the next stop.”

“Yes, Ambassador.”

“You are dismissed.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. We managed to get through a meeting with an authority figure without pissing anyone off! What a good day!

I started to walk towards the door, when I bumped into Gedric.

“Gedric?” I said.

My brother was frozen in place, looking towards the right-hand side of the room.

Uh oh.

Right at the Owl in the cage.

I watched his eyes widen as he continued to stare. I looked at the owl.

It was looking back.

Slam!

The Cage rocked in place as the owl launched itself at the bars, screeching at the top of its lungs. Maroon feathers and claws teared at the cage, trying to get to my brother. The beast’s eyes had gone completely bloodshot, and it screamed as it attempted to escape captivity.

Gedric recoiled in fear, falling on his ass on the plush carpet.

The Ambassador groaned and walked over to the cage, cracking his neck. He stood between the owl’s cage and my brother, and brought his hands up to the bars.

The bird went silent.

“Predators,” He said, “Do not enjoy being caged. If you meet a Baolan Owl’s eyes, it sees it as a threat, and goes into a state that resembles what we call a Bloodrage in those with the Blood.”

He turned, looking at my brother sitting on the ground.

“We do not need those who are willing to anger the predators above them. The other may come. This one may not.”

I stood in shocked silence.

Katherine, scowling, picked my brother up off the floor, and pulled me out of the room by the shoulder.

“Apologies, Ambassador.”

I heard the door close behind us.

“You two have to be the dumbest children I have ever met.” She said.

“Sorry.” Gedric mumbled. “It wasn’t on purpose.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She said. “I’ll be escorting you to the orphanage now.”

“Wait, he’s not coming with us?”

Katherine shook her head. “No. Were you not listening? The Ambassador said we do not need him, so he stays.”

“Shit!” I said.

My brother looked like he was on the edge of tears.

“Are you serious, lady? You’re going to split us up because he looked at a feral bird?”

“I have my orders. You are beneath that responsibility.”

“Then I’m not going, either.” I said.

“That’s fine.” She said. “We don’t need you, specifically. There will be others.”

We were walked off the vessel. Katherine brought us to the orphanage. By then, the pack I had been carrying full of my belongings had started to chafe, leaving blisters where the straps dug in at my shoulders. There was a short conversation with the owner, and then we were left at the doorstep with the senile old man who ran the place.

“Come to the boat by tomorrow morning if you change your mind.” Katherine said.

We were led indoors, which was just as run-down and overcrowded as I remembered. The front door opened into a kitchen, and we took a narrow staircase up to the second floor where the bunks were. Tattered blankets littered the floor, as well as children much younger than Gedric and I. We didn’t recognize anyone, fortunately. By our age, most had figured out how little this place had to offer them.

Gedric and I watched Katherine leave down the street from the second story window. When she disappeared from view, we walked down the stairs and out the front door, starting the trek back to our house.

“Well,” I said. “That was a giant waste of time.”

“Can I be real with you?” Gedric said.

I nodded.

“We probably would’ve gotten kicked out sooner or later.”

We laughed.

“Yeah.” I said.

The cobbled pathway we followed echoed our footsteps down the city street. Midday was turning towards sunset, at this point, but the street remained empty. There just haven't been that many people in Byras since the war started.

“I was kind of looking forward to it.” Gedric admitted.

“Same.” I said. “We would’ve gotten to beat each other up all the time, and even have an excuse.”

“But with magic.”

“Can magic do this?” I said.

I kicked a rock.

Gedric and I watched it roll down the street, before it stumbled to a stop.

“Probably.” He said.

I frowned.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. The armored woman’s threat to make sure we were out of our old family home had been empty, though she may have talked to the local guard, who may have promised to come check on us in the morning. We would deal with that when it came - She was leaving tomorrow, after all. She couldn’t personally keep us out of here. I was confident Gedric and I could get around anything the locals might put us up to. We’d done it before, after all.

I hadn’t unpacked yet. My bag had been sitting by the door since we had gotten home.

I caught myself staring at it.

Sometime that night, I adjusted my pack. The streets were dark, by now, so the normally quiet part of Byras we lived in was now dead silent. I took soft steps down the road, eventually arriving at the docks.

I mustered the courage to approach the vessel, and waved to the guard manning the plank.

“I want to talk to Katherine.” I said.

The guard nodded, and called to another soldier on the deck. After a few minutes, Katherine appeared. She was still fully armored.

“You changed your mind?” She asked.

I nodded.

“What of your brother?”

“He’s okay with staying home.” I said. “We made this decision together.”

“I hope so.” She said, tapping absentmindedly. “He’s a good kid. You both are.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess.”

Katherine escorted me to a cabin, one floor down from the deck. It was much larger than I expected from sleeping on boats with my father growing up. It seemed like it was meant to be used by a member of an important Bloodline, or some government official.

I dropped my pack on the bed, and thanked Katherine before she left to go back above deck.

I waited until I could no longer hear her, before grabbing the small candle in a shaped glass lantern off the dresser at the end of the bed. I packed one, just in case, but this one was nicer and likely burned brighter. I wrenched on my pack.

It was a short walk to the back end of the boat. The door at the end of the hall towards the back of the boat led exactly where I thought it did - the viewing platform I had seen from the shore. There was no guard here, from what I saw. As far as I’d seen, the sentries that were posted were exclusively there to protect the Ambassador, so I hadn’t expected anyone to be watching over the end of the ship that just faced the dark ocean.

I pulled the rope from my pack, and tied it to the railing, before tossing the other end of the edge of the ship. I lit the candle and placed it on the railing, leaning on it so that my body covered where the rope was tied.

Ten or so minutes passed.

I heard a small splash.

“Fuck, that was cold.” Gedric whispered as he climbed over the railing, wringing his shirt.