"Kara."

Kara yawned as she heard her name being called. The lack of urgency in the speaker's voice made it easy for her rise slowly, pausing to stretch before leaning out of the bell tower.

As she looked down below, she saw Aberthan standing with one hand raised over his eyes to block the sun's glare. He cupped his other hand over the side of his mouth and shouted her name again.

"Aberthan, over here." Kara waved from her vantage point until he noticed her.

Aberthan squinted as he looked up at her, his pale blue eyes turning to slits as he struggled to block out the sun.

"What are you doing up there?" Aberthan asked, but shook his head quickly. "Nevermind. Get down quick. We're going to the Grounds. Belwyn's orders."

"Be right down," she yelled.

She closed her book, not bothering to mark the page she'd been on, as it was her third read-through anyways. Though a trip to the Grounds usually didn’t take too long, Kara debated on leaving the book on top of the bell tower. She quickly decided to leave a paperweight on top of the book and climb down down the ladder.

When she got to the bottom, Aberthan was waiting expectantly.

"Come on. Belwyn seemed pretty insistent that we hurry. Best not to keep him waiting."

Kara nodded. "Are we going to the Grounds directly?"

"Nah, he wants us to meet in his office."

"Really?" Kara asked, confused by the answer. "Why?"

Aberthan shrugged. "Beats me. Mascen relayed his orders to me and sent me out to find you. Seems like he wants to deliver some sort of news to both of us at the same time. I'm sure if Eili weren't on a mission she'd be called too."

Kara nodded. She suspected the same. While they got along fine, the only common factor that she and Aberthan shared was their roles as Guardians. Though he hadn't explicitly said, she assumed it would just be the two of them who had been called to meet up with their Quartermaster.

For the most part, they walked in silence, not having much to talk about and not having much distance to walk. Only a few minutes away from the bell tower, the Quartermaster's building stood, built right next to the gates of the Armoury wall.

Aberthan held the door open for Kara and she walked inside. Knowing the building well, from both her monthly reports to the quartermaster as well as the amount of book orders she would request from him, she led the way to Belwyn's office.

She knocked twice on the door.

"Come in," a deep voice said from inside.

Kara opened the door to see Belwyn pacing back and forth in his office. His mouth widened into a smile when he saw Kara and Aberthan enter, but Kara noted that he was pointedly looking at neither of them. Though it was common for most Normals to look away from Soulblades, finding their directionless eyes unnerving, Belwyn was normally one who made a point to look directly into their eyes.

"Is something wrong, Belwyn?" Kara asked immediately, unable to stop herself.

Belwyn's eyes darted up to Kara's staring directly into them. His smile immediately turned jagged, held for a moment, then fell entirely.

"Too soon to decide on that. It's... not good news," he said, sighing as he scratched at his chin. "It's not bad news either, but..."

Kara glanced at Aberthan, who didn't seem to notice her attention. Though it was impossible to tell where he was looking, she felt his confused expression was directed solely at their uncharacteristically bumbling quartermaster.

They both waited for Belwyn as he searched for what to say next.

He looked up at them.

"Where's Eili?" he asked.

"Eili's on a mission, sir," Aberthan said.

"Oh, yeah. Mascen mentioned something like that. Sorry."

Aberthan and Kara shared a look, and Kara made a slight motion with her head, indicating the older man to speak.

"Sir. What exactly is this news?" he asked.

Belwyn shook his head. "Ah, I wish I could have just told the three of you all in one go. Well. No sense beating around the bush."

He looked up at them, looking them both in the eye before speaking.

"Now I don't want you overreacting, and I want you to let me finish talking before you say your piece. There may be a possibility, several years from now, that you may be reassigned as Soldiers."

Kara stiffened, and beside her she could feel Aberthan do the same. She was sure that if Eili were there with them, she would have said something in reactive shock, but with Aberthan's ex-military background and her own penchant for following the rules, they both stayed silent.

"Now firstly, I don't want this to sound like a guarantee. Our King is currently fighting for a change in the Grand Treaty to allow for a human to act as a Soulblade with this new weapon. I've been told it isn't quite ready yet, but its advancement may very well depend on how it performs today. Depending on what the King's advisors think about the display, a lot of money may very well be going into the development of the technology and who knows when it'll be functional. You won't be doing anything, but I thought you three- well I guess you two at least, deserved to be there."

Aberthan looked just as confused as she did, but didn't seem to be interested in speaking up. Not quite willing to ignore the strange ramblings of their Quartermaster, Kara asked, "Belwyn. What are you talking about?"

Belwyn blinked twice. "Excuse me?"

"What weapon?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice from quivering. It was clear that regardless of how poorly Belwyn was conveying it, he was clear that the man was delivering big news. She didn't want to make any assumptions before she knew what he was talking about. "You're rambling, Belwyn. We have no idea what you're talking about."

Belwyn gave her a bewildered look before shaking his head again. "I'm sorry, Kara. I guess I should explain a little better, huh?"

Belwyn stared her directly in the eyes.

"Someone created a weapon designed to kill Soulblades."

---

On the ride to the Grounds, Kara and Aberthan rode in silence for the first few minutes. Both of them being Guardians, they had never needed to travel outside of the Armoury together, but Kara doubted that even if they were better friends, they would have failed to keep a conversation going in this instance.

Kara's mind focused on what Belwyn had said. The thought of being freed from the harrowing responsibilities of a Guardian had her vibrating in excitement, though a part of her admonished her for wanting to shirk her duties. The fact of the matter was that she hated the idea that she was responsible for the lives of her fellows.

She didn't know what Aberthan thought. When Belwyn told them of the weapon, his face had immediately gone stiff, adopting the stern military expression that he sometimes retreated into. Though they sat in darkness, Kara had the impression that his face hadn't changed since.

"Aberthan," she said. The sudden break in silence came as a shock, even to her, but now that she had broken it, she couldn't stop herself from asking the question. "What do you think about the news?"

Aberthan didn't respond. Kara thought for a moment that if he simply didn't want to speak, she wouldn't push it, but eventually he spoke up.

"I'm surprised at myself," he said, his voice adopting a strange strain of forced neutrality.

Kara didn't speak, unsure of how to interpret his statement.

"The first thing I thought of was how afraid I was," he admitted, surprising Kara entirely. "To be a Soldier, I mean. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I may have developed some sort of comfort in being a Guardian, despite how shit it makes you feel. I guess I'd just rather be the one holding the knife, instead of being the one under it."

Kara thought for a moment before saying, "I think I'm the opposite."

Aberthan laughed. It was a humourless bark, quickly muted by the thick wood around them. "You're a better person than I am."

She really didn't think so, but didn’t say anything.

"I suppose that's how I should be too," Aberthan said, sighing as he leant backwards. Though it was too dark to see him, Kara could hear the dull thud of the back of his head hitting the wall. "I've been given a second chance to pay back the people I killed. I should just be grateful, shouldn't I?"

Kara didn't respond.

There was a brief moment of silence before Aberthan spoke again.

"Hey, Kara," he said. "I know this isn't something anyone ever really talks about, but how many people do you reckon you killed when you first manifested?"

Kara stiffened at the question.

"I'm not sure," she lied.

Aberthan made a small noise and she imagined him nodding to himself in the darkness. She wasn't sure if he could tell she was lying or if he even cared.

"My platoon was made up of fifteen men," he said. "I'm not sure how many of them were dead before I had my first manifestation, but the people that were in the town we were sent to protect... They were all alive.

"I'm not even sure if they were in range of my manifestation. They found me, in a field of ice, as naked as the day I was born. They took eight hours to get me out after they found me. The blades of grass in the field were frozen so sharp that they had to crush a path to get to me first.

"They never let me know whether my magic affected the town. Never let me pass it. Said it was standard procedure, that even if I didn't kill an entire town of civilians, I was never to be told. So I guess I'm not sure, either."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"It wasn't your fault," Kara said, not willing to let the conversation fall into silence on such a dreary note. "Nobody has control when they manifest."

Aberthan sighed. "I know. Sorry that you had to listen to an old man ramble on like that. I'm not trying to blame myself for what I did, but the fact is that I lived while whoever died died. I got a second chance and here I am, complaining that I might die when all I've been doing so far is threatening to kill people who are in the same shitty situation as I am."

Kara stood up and went over to the other side of the carriage, placing herself right next to the older man.

"Sorry you have to see me like this, Kara," he said as she pressed her shoulder to his arm, just as a reminder that he wasn't alone. "Must be awkward to see an old man cry."

Kara hadn't realized he'd been crying, nothing in his voice gave away the fact, but she didn't bother telling him. She imagined him to be a clean crier, shedding only a few tears at a time.

"It's okay to be scared, I think," she said. "You've only been here two years."

"What's my age as a Soulblade got to do with anything? I've killed people before, Kara. I've seen my friends be killed. I know what it's like."

"But you haven't died," she said. "Aberthan, the sad truth is that once you're a Soulblade, you're already dead. One day, you'll lose control of yourself and you'll die. That will happen whether you're a Guardian or a Soldier."

Aberthan laughed again, but actually seemed to be amused, rather than morbid. "I gotta say, Kara. If this is you trying to cheer me up, I've gotta say you're really shit at it. Makes it even worse when a kid like you is saying it."

Kara shrugged. "Eh," she said to vocalize her shrug, even though she was sure he had felt her shift her shoulders up. "It's something you'll realize on your own eventually. The important thing is that all the Soldiers here, except maybe Gareth, have been here long enough to already have realized that. Don't feel guilty for being a Guardian."

Her words were just as directed towards herself as well as him, but she still hoped she exuded a confidence she didn't quite feel.

"Hmm."

---

A small group of bureaucrats waited at the edge of a landscape scoured by countless years of abuse. The marks of destruction from Soulblades testing the control of their manifestation and the range of their magic had carved a wide empty basin that likely hadn’t existed before the Soulblades had designated the area as their testing grounds. Just a few dozen meters away from where the bureaucrats stood, a small crowd of new grass shoots poked out of the earth, bravely growing in the spot where their previous crop had withered and died a few months before.

Cassian knew that the bureaucrats were whispering among each other, but he could not hear what they were saying. Though he could feel their posture, and the way that they shifted their weight from the minute tremors that travelled hundreds of meters through the earth, listening in to their conversations was an ability that was slightly beyond his capabilities. To do so would require him to focus his magic enough that he could feel the vibration of their words through their bodies and the earth they stood on. While it was possible for him to do so, the wind, the moving grass, and the few brave animals that continued to live in the field of destruction would only add to the chaotic mess of indecipherable vibrations. Cassian didn’t care to listen to the whispered musings of the bureaucrats, but still lamented his inability to do so.

A few meters away from the bureaucrats, the inventor stood. He was shaky on his feet, after a few consecutive weeks of not getting enough sleep to sustain his old body. He leaned on his invention for support, and where the long metal barrel touched the earth, Cassian felt his magic shrivelling away from its touch.

A carriage grew closer, and the bureaucrats turned as one towards the Quartermaster of the Armoury sitting at the reins.

The Quartermaster ignored them at first to open the door to the carriage, letting the two Soulblades inside step out. As they touched the ground, the slight auras of magic that the two Soulblades unconsciously emitted tickled the edges of the earth they stood on, intermingling with his own magic.

He was embarrassed to admit to himself that when he realized that the Soulblades were being transported, the thought that they would be used as targets even occurred to him. While it was tempting to think of the bladeless as being heartless, there simply was no reason for them to kill a Soulblade in cold blood.

As the bureaucrats slowly registered the presence of Soulblades among them, they drew back and a shallow buzz of tremors travelled down the earth, their protests being loud enough to shake the ground they stood on.

The magic of the two Soulblades wavered, though their stances remained strong. The larger one was male and obviously well-disciplined, either an ex-militia man or a monk before he first manifested his Soulblade. The smaller of the two was female, and though she didn't seem as disciplined as the man beside her, shifting minutely on her feet, the reach of her magic was immense, even when inactivate.

There was another slight buzz, and a tremor as the Quartermaster stomped his foot down. The buzz from the bureaucrats quickly died down and Cassian found himself surprised and impressed by the man, to shout his superiors down like that.

The two Soulblades took their place behind the bureaucrats. While all of the bladeless, with the exception of the Quartermaster and inventor, made extra efforts to distance themselves from their superiors, eventually all eyes turned to face the inventor.

The inventor lifted the metal barrel from the ground, allowing Cassian's magic to flood back into the spot it had been pressed into. Cassian waited as the inventor prepared his weapon, stuffing it with black powder and pushing a small metal pellet into the barrel.

The inventor held the barrel against his shoulder and pointed it at the sack of sand that sat in the middle of the razed fields, about a hundred meters away.

The world above trembled as a sharp loud sound resounded in the air.

Cassian winced as the metal pellet embedded itself into the earth, sinking itself into his magic and burning it away. Quickly, he drew his influence away from the earth before the small metal pellet could do any more damage.

Though the inventor had missed the sack of sand, which Cassian could only assume he had been aiming for, the people above him shook in varying degrees of excitement and skepticism.

Curiously, Cassian noted that the male Soulblade's aura drew closer into him, despite his unwavering stance. Admittedly, Cassian didn't quite understand exactly how well a Soulblade's aura affected their mood, but he understood well enough to know that the man wasn't feeling anything positive about the display.

The woman, on the other hand, showed no change whatsoever, aside from a quick pulse of surprise when the weapon was fired.

As the inventor loaded his weapon again and fired it ten more times, hitting the sack of flour twice, there was a larger buzz of activity from the bladeless and no reaction from the female Soulblade.

After the display, the Soulblades were herded back into their carriage, with the bladeless bureaucrats staying behind. While the inventor stomped impatiently, it was only after the Soulblade cart was a fair distance away that the bureaucrats went their own way, following the trail to the Soulblades' encampment.

Cassian followed the Soulblades to their home, and the aura of a few dozen Soulblades seeped through the earth to meet him, each individual aura intermingling with his own.

The encampment was surrounded by a high wall that was made mostly of brick, but contained long sheets of metal hidden within. Cassian shuddered as he passed underneath them, drawing in his magic closer to him so his influence wouldn't touch them as he rose closer to the surface.

He made sure to rise out of the ground in an area where he wouldn't be seen. Nudity aside, he wanted to clean himself slightly before presenting himself to his fellow Soulblades. As he emerged from the ground on the edge of a small flower garden, making sure to smooth the area he’d risen from flat with his foot, he quickly walked inside the small house, apologizing silently for the intrusion.

The owner of the house wasn't home, but their personal belongings were, and in excess. With the floors and walls covered haphazardly in large piles of clothes in various sizes, it didn't take long for Cassian to find something that would fit him. A quick check in the mirror told him they fit fine, though it had been too long since he had seen clothes for him to determine if it looked good or not.

The clothes felt uncomfortable on his skin, but it wasn't something that was significant enough to stop him. There was a bucket of water sitting in the kitchen, so he splashed a handful on his face, taking care not to make a mess on the floor or counters. The touch of water was surprisingly refreshing, and he had to remind himself he wouldn't erode away at its touch. No matter how much he felt otherwise, he was still made of flesh, not earth.

Looking around with both his eyes and his intensified sense of touch, he quickly located a knife made of bone.

Cassian stepped outside before he chopped off a significant portion of his hair, making it short enough to be presentable and not dragging on the floor behind him. Using his magic, he created a small sinkhole and threw the hair inside, closing it up once it was all covered.

After placing the bone knife back where he found it, he strolled out onto the dirt road of the Soulblade encampment. Though he couldn't see anybody with how large the encampment was relative to its small population, a short distance away, hidden within a small orchard of varying fruit trees, he could sense a group of three children and one adult running around.

He walked leisurely towards them until they came into view.

None of them noticed him, so he waved and shouted.

"Hello there!" he said with a wide smile on his face. He had meant to keep his expression stoic, but it had been so long that he had talked to anybody that he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of elation at the simple interaction.

The four Soulblades halted as they were, with two of them halfway up an orange tree. They clung onto the branches as all eyes turned to face him.

"Hello?" one of the younger children with her feet planted on the ground said. Despite the confusion in her voice, Cassian couldn't help but feel his grin grow wider at the sound of another human voice and the sight of her eyes. Solid yellow eyes that shone like topaz with pale golden hair to match. "Can we help you, sir?"

"My name's Cassian," he said. "I simply wanted to introduce myself and to ask if you could direct me to a particular person's abode."

"Are you new here?" the blue-eyed adult asked, still hanging from a tree branch.

"Of course he's new here, Newlyn," the red-eyed boy said, pushing off of his tree and landing on the ground easily. "Have you seen him before? That means he's new!"

"You've gotten a lot more haughty since Eili told you to call me a kid," the adult mumbled.

The yellow-eyed girl ignored the both of them to nod politely to Cassian. "Please ignore them both. It's often better to ignore them when they argue. My name is Sian. Have you lost your station, sir? I can help guide you if you let me know where you work."

No doubt she had noticed his pupilled eyes and assumed that he was bladeless. Though it hurt to hide his true nature, he shook his head, not seeing a reason to reveal himself so early.

"I know where I'm supposed to be," he said. "I simply wish to find someone. Would you happen to know which house belongs to the Soulblade with the black aura?"

Sian's polite expression slipped into one of confusion. "Sorry?"

"Oh, right. I'm sorry," Cassian said, laughing quietly to himself. "Could you let me know where the black-eyed girl lives?"

"Kara?" the red-eyed boy asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Sian asked, her expression suddenly going firm.

Cassian laughed. "I simply want to meet her, Sian. Nothing nefarious."

"That's something a nefarious person would say," the teal-eyed girl said from behind the group. Though she had hidden behind a tree as soon as Cassian had appeared, there were few that could truly hide from him.

"Nah, he's not nefarious," the adult, Newlyn, said.

"How do you know that?" the red-eyed boy asked.

"He's looking straight at us," Newlyn said. "Normals always look away when they talk to us."

"Except Belwyn," the teal-eyed girl said.

"Yeah," Newlyn said. "And he's nice."

The two younger children grumbled in defeat, though Sian refused to drop her suspicious glare.

"I still don't trust him," she said, talking as if he weren't there.

"Who? Belwyn?" Newlyn asked, genuine surprise creeping into his voice.

"No, dummy. The new guy," the red-eyed boy said.

Casian smiled at the display. It filled him with joy to see that his people could find such casual happiness even within their confines.

"If it helps, you could all come with me," he suggested. "You can all watch over me to make sure I'm not doing anything nefarious, and I'd love to get to know you all while we wait for the black-eyed girl to come back."

Though Sian's eyes narrowed even further at the suggestion, the rest seemed to be placated by it.

"You want an orange before we go?" Newlyn asked, pulling himself up over the tree branch so he wasn't just hanging from his hands.

Cassian smiled. "That would be wonderful."

"Gareth doesn't get one because he keeps calling me stupid."

"I can get just one myself, dummy!"