When Gadric Cintog arrived at the farm, he furrowed his thick brow and squinted his already-narrow eyes at the sight before him. His son, though not by any blood relation, had already done a considerable amount of plowing through the field.

The boy was already drenched in sweat, working intensely with the rusted hoe.

“Oy, what’s going on with you?”

Cedric looked up, having not noticed his father’s appearance at all.

“Ah, good morning father. I just had trouble sleeping, so I thought I’d get a head start this morning.”

“That so…”

Gadric ended the morning pleasantries with that, and began his own workload tending to the crops. As Cedric continued working with even more fervor, he wondered if his father noticed his currently plummeting state of mind. He looked up to the sky while taking a quick breather, face wrought with unease. The grey sky was always like this, but the atmosphere it gave off today matched his burnt out melancholy.

The sleepless boy was no longer petrified, but at a loss. He knew that things around him were going to change soon, and he didn’t know what he should do to navigate those changes. From the talk of the next heir, to the worsening war and his mental defeat, he was beginning to see himself as helpless to impact any change in the upheaval that loomed larger every day.

“Father…do you think we’re on the verge of losing the war?” Cedric posed his concern plainly as the two made their way back home.

“What makes you think that? Has your world changed in any way because of the war?”

“Ah…I guess not…no,” Cedric half lied.

“Then, do not concern yourself with matters that others have the role of addressing. No matter what happens, we must only continue in our roles. If you are not a soldier, you needn’t think of unnecessary things.”

“Ah…understood…”

They returned home, and Cedric remained downcast as he bathed and prepared for lessons.

Eating his portion of breakfast in a hurry despite having little appetite, he then stood up and made for the door.

“Is it really your wish…to become the next Sword Heir?”

Cedric’s heart stopped. He turned to look at his father, who was sipping a mug of hot tea at the old worn down table, as if to confirm it was actually him. He had, without exception, never once talked about the Heir competition with him.

Cedric assumed he didn’t want him to bring unnecessary attention to them, and thought he maybe even resented him for his name simply being thrown into the ambiguous race. Therefore, it was a complete shock to hear him mention such a thing.

“I…I can’t say that it’s my desire to be the Heir. I think what I want is- no, I know that I want- to be a knight.”

“I see,” Gadric muttered before silently puffing on a wooden pipe.

“Your birth father was the same way.”

Cedric’s heart jumpstarted, only to stop once more. Gadric had said this like it was nothing, but it was the first time he’d ever mentioned either of his parents.

“You…knew them?” Cedric managed to breath out his words, stunned.

“Barely. I only had brief contact with them in the mountains where they lived.”

“Mount-"

Another shot of ice-water directly into his heart.

“I’m- an offspring of the mountainfolk?”

His father gave a silent nod.

So, I’m essentially-a descendant of the campsite.

He looked down at the table with wide, shaking eyes that threatened to pour tears out at any moment.

So, then Garik…

Cedric clenched his fists. Part of him wanted to hear more, but knew very well he shouldn’t pry further. It was a miracle his father decided to divulge so much information to begin with.

“Anyway, if you’re truly shooting for knighthood…I only expect that you make sure it’s within your grasp. Reaching out beyond yourself, in whatever you do, will result in failure. Keep your duty at the core of your heart, and do not explore its possibilities carelessly.”

“My duty…to the Teutons…?”

“Your duty to yourself.”

The inside of his chest thumped like a drum. He wanted to indulge his father further, to ask him what duty he should hold to himself. However, the words wouldn’t come out. He was too overwhelmed by the things his father had said.

“…I understand. Well then, Good day, father. I’ll see you at dinnertime.”

Gadric returned his words with a short nod, and Cedric thought for a second that he looked slightly less stern than usual.

On his way to the schooling center, Cedric looked dazedly at the mist dome. He still felt as though he was lost within a sea of those clouds, unsure of what to do or where to go. However, his heart was still racing from what his father’s words had given him. He felt like he now at least had a modest light to illuminate the way ahead. An energy within that would allow him to go forward, into that cloud of uncertainty, with some confidence.

When he arrived at the classroom, it became clear that he wasn’t the only one out of sorts. Many of the boys seemed to be in a daze, and seemed less talkative than usual.

This lay most true with Mel. The lanky blonde sat with his arms folded, staring at his desk as if it was telling him some sort of story.

Cedric, not feeling up to pestering him, took his seat in silence. Quentle, on the other hand-

“What’s wrong with everyone? You all look like I ate your lunch and stole your girlfriend. Hehe, or the other way a-”

“Shut up you moron, it’s early and you’re giving me a headache already.” Mel spat out, not bothering to look up while holding his head. Quentle pointed at Mel, looking at Cedric with a curious smirk as he sat next to him.

“Hey Quentle, have you not heard?” the approaching Farum asked before sitting comfortably on the side of their table.

“Huh? No, Cedric, you know anything?”

Cedric merely shook his head in response, only half-lying.

“Apparently…” the slow sounding noble whispered much louder than an actual whisper, “the wall was broken through last night.”

Cedric felt his stomach sink, his eyes wide. Mel responded similarly, but with much truer shock.

“Wha-"

“Though it seems it was only a small section, and was immediately recovered. We even caused a somewhat quick retreat from what I hear.”

“Say that sooner next time, man!” Quentle burst out over-dramatically.

“A quick retreat, yet they were able to take out a portion of the wall in that amount of time?... big guns, huh…” Cedric whispered the last part, ignoring the stares pointing at the attention-hogging Quentle.

“Yeah, and it seems the casualties were quite high for such a quick battle, as well…” Berd added with a touch to his glasses, suddenly walking up to their desk alongside the lazy-faced Kaolo.

This time, Cedric’s heart sunk as well. He stared fixedly at his desk, attempting to justify to himself why his low-level friends were sure to be okay.

“I heard Commander Al came in to save the small fry infantry garrison of Commander Giro,” Kaolo added with a yawn.

Gi..ro.…

Cedric mouthed the name, realizing where he’d heard it before, and began sweating visibly.

“Though, from what I’m hearing it’s possible some enemies got through the wall before the retreat happened…”

Cedric was now shaking, his face white and clammy.

“Cedric? You good?” Quentle posed quietly, before the others had a chance to notice.

“Ah…yeah, fine. Didn’t sleep much thanks to you guys.” He brushed off Quentle’s inquisitive glance with ease.

“Speaking of,” Mel cut in from nowhere, “I was thinking about having the guys all join us tonight…ya know, just to be safe.”

Cedric looked up quizzically, wondering how much attention his aloof friend was paying, and if the timing of his interruption was as calculated as it seemed.

“Ooh, a three on three you’re thinking? Spices things up a bit!” Quentle seemed genuinely excited.

“Well, even more would be fine, I think. What about Geraint and Jorge?”

The two muscular boys peeked their heads around from two desks away upon hearing their names.

“You guys in?” Quentle asked in a whisper that rivaled Farum’s in volume and subtlety.

Geraint nodded his head with a shrug, and Jorge held a thumb up with a wink.

“Well, that’s that! This is gonna be awesome!”

“Yeah, so we could do the two big guys, Kaolo and Cedric, against me, the ruffian, Berd, and Farum.”

“Huh? Why so specific?” Cedric asked with a frown.

“No reason, really.” Mel didn’t bother to turn around as he answered curtly, returning his head to his arms.

Don’t give me that…

This is based on…yesterday’s class…

Mel’s weird insistence on pushing the issue frustrated Cedric, fouling his mood further. With a half-grunt-half-sigh, he held his head in his hands until he heard Master Gambell’s polite voice.

“Ah. Good morning, boys. Please, have your seats at this time.”

Even this guy was sounding somber. Cedric sat up properly, thinking the end must really be near.

“Well, today, I’d like to begin by touching on some things mentioned yesterday. Namely, that of the Day Left in Grey.”

……

“Well, to give brief exposition to the topic, I’d like to revisit the history-or at least the history our knowledge holds, of the various wars within Molovar. We first go back before the Dome came to be, where around half of our Takanova’s four hundred years of existence saw war between us and the Shlanks. In that time, there was also war between the Gleazons of Center Rock and their neighboring Celanocia Island, a war that would prove pivotal in both state’s desire to expand westward. In the end, Celanocia gained the upper hand, securing a sea route toward the western Island State of Felaficia and some neighboring stateless islands.

“Meanwhile, the northern Island State of Snarilia served as our country’s defense force, fighting off invading fleets from the country of Molusht, while also tending to unneeded squabbles between states over small islands that to this day remain unclaimed. This included the Red Exodus, where many Shlanks defected and sought to claim their own island, fighting small battles with just about every state until they found Shraunts Island, a rich northeastern state inhabited by the Verdeans, a longtime rival of Snarilia.

“Through the fierce fighting strength of the Shlank defects, the Verdeans were forced to retreat to a small unnamed island further south. The inhabitants of the newly claimed Shraunts Island of course went on to call themselves the Black Shlanks, and dedicated themselves to becoming an economic powerhouse rather than wage war, evidenced by the many trends and industrial innovations we’ve received from them.

“At the same time, Snarilia had become so focused on the fights within that the emissaries of Molusht seized the chance and forced their way in, setting up camp in another unknown island near the Verdeans’ new home. This fueled tensions between the Snarilians and Verdeans, eventually sparking a three-way war that ravaged the two unnamed islands.

“That three-way war, marks the end of our records leading up to the Day Left in Grey. The true victor remains unknown, but we know of a clear loser, though we do not know the means. After the Dome’s appearance, the Molusht forces slowly rebuilt themselves while the Snarilians mysteriously shut themselves within their fortress of an Island, rejecting any communication. The only certainty that we know is that, once the dust had settled, the Verdeans…no longer existed.”

The boys, having already learned these details, were not any more enthused than they had been before Gambell began speaking. Cedric was no different, taking the opportunity to ponder the strange Shlank defection, which seemed even more odd now that he knew the story of Velagoras and Garik.

“So then, keeping in mind the conflicts of our pre-dome Molovar, let us review the battles that have occurred since the sky became grey.

“As many skirmishes that took place before the Day Left in Grey, the amount of conflict we’ve seen in the twenty years since has been significantly greater. Even with the powerhouse Snarilia stepping completely away from the national stage, the tensions between states which suddenly became caged in by this strange dome of mist, only grew.

“Surprisingly, the Shlanks backed off their assault at the Wall, and looked elsewhere. The Gleazons, having failed at western expansion, had turned their gaze south, toward islands and seas that would provide southern states a foothold to the northeast. The Shlanks answered the call, possibly seeking these strategic footholds as potential steps in taking revenge upon the Black Shlanks who not only left, but risked dirtying their precious bloodline.

“This allowed us Teutons to strengthen ourselves, and while we were eventually forced to meet the Gleazons at sea in small scale battles as well, a three-year period of rapid development passed, proving vital for what we had in store.

“Meanwhile, in the northwest, the successful Celanocians took only a year to conquer the state of Felaficia, where they would then build a powerful military base and initiate what we know to be the famous Wolverine regime. In the next year, they returned their gaze to the center-most Gleazons, having failed to subjugate the stateless islands close to them. This forced the Gleazons to give up their plans of expansion, and instead focus on maintaining their strong defense in the form a highly elevated plateau-island, which the Wolverines would spend nearly two years toiling away at to no avail.

“The Gleazons’ withdrawal from southeastern seas seemed to allow the Shlanks a free ride to the north. However, upon running into Molusht fleets that had frantically expanded in reaction to suddenly being trapped in enemy territory, the group returned to their side of Takanova. Back home, they wasted no time in continuing the fight with us, which turned into a yearlong clash at the Wall, the most intense fighting we’d seen thus far.

“Of course, we were able to hold them off and secure the Wall, but not without countless lives lost, troops from both home and mountains alike.”

Cedric’s throat lurched at this, as this was the war that he was born into, that made him a war orphan. Now that he had a bit more information on his parents and the people of the mountains, the thought of that year-long Shlank war gave him an empty feeling he couldn’t describe.

“Now, thanks to our development in the years prior, we were able to recover quite quickly. Of course, this was very necessary, as it was time for the states to ally themselves for the first time. The hostile Molusht forces, who now held two islands and faced no resistance from the nearby Snarilia and Shraunts Island, were beginning to build a wide-scale perimeter with their fleets. Their forces seemed to multiply unnaturally, as their threat grew larger and larger by the day, until the Shlanks, Gleazons, Wolverines, and Teutons convened and decided they must work together to take out their mutual enemy, one who had even larger numbers waiting on the outside if the dome were to ever fall.

“And thus, another year-long war took place at sea. The four states who chose to fight brought their finest warships together in a concentrated effort to wipe out the numerous Molusht fleets. Finally, the five-way naval fight was drawn into southeastern seas, where the final scorching battle took place.

It was there, in what we now call the Ghost Seas, where we finally routed the Molusht forces. It was in the same battle, fifteen years ago, that the Wolverines, led by General Shuant, betrayed us and murdered the most recent Sword Heir, Hedric. The Gleazons ignored the sudden betrayal, focusing on chasing down the scattered Molusht ships, while the Shlanks surprisingly kept their heads down and returned home.

“Just like that, we were suddenly thrust into war with the Wolverines without so much as a declaration of war, and we have, of course, been fighting that war till this very day.”

Gambell’s speech trailed off with a low tone that matched the wounded body language of the class.

“Now, onto my theory I’ve been mentioning. You see, I reiterated the history of these wars to emphasize the impact the Dome has had on our country. To get you thinking about the way the different states reacted to being caged in suddenly. Now, I’d like you to also think about the relics given to our ancestors and the Shlanks. The Sages gifted these relics to us with goodwill and guidance in mind, and look at what both states did with them: we turned them into the two most powerful weapons in the world, and used them against each other for our own gain.

“So, you see, it is my thought that the Dome’s appearance was of no natural occurrence, but another chance given to us by the Sages to come together as a nation. This is evidenced by its timing, with the three-way war raging across the northeast, and the leftover mutual threat of the Molusht forces still lingering. The stones were lined up so that we would all come together as one, however, all we did was continue fighting. As a matter of fact, the fighting only worsened. And when we finally were forced to form an alliance to stamp out the obvious threat, the alliance did not even last the duration of its mission. Many blame the Wolverines for being power hungry conquerors, but the truth was that there was never a mutual trust between the four allied states.

“This was likely one reason the Snarilians and Black Shlanks refused to cooperate. We simply never communicated with each other as people, despite the Sages guidance.”

“But, couldn’t it just as easily be the opposite? It seems more likely we were pitted against each other from the beginning, doesn’t it?” Quentle shamelessly spoke up the moment Gambell’s speech paused, sounding as serious as he did in the previous class.

Cedric had the same thought as he did, but after yesterday’s outburst, he had decided to hold his tongue no matter what.

“Well, that way of thinking is in no way wrong, Quentle,” Gambell answered with a modest smile.

“Huh...” Quentle murmured in shock, his eyebrows contorting like he was trying to make shapes out of them.

“That is the most obvious opposing view, after all. I personally choose to see things a bit more positively, is all. It is my belief that Sages are beings who serve to guide our world, and foster a collective Will among its people.”

“That’s my problem exactly, though. Our Will is fine and all, but giving the Shlanks a Will like that…seems kind of blatant, doesn’t it?” Quentle was now holding nothing back in his interjections. This counter had Cedric genuinely interested in Gambell’s response, but the class began to clamor before the stressed teacher could answer.

“Why wouldn’t they just come out and tell us if that was the case?”

“How could they not foresee the fighting that would come from suddenly being trapped in here together?”

“The Dome caused the destruction of an entire state!”

“People’s greed destroyed an entire state! And don’t forget a state was wiped out before the Dome as well!”

The class quickly split into two sides, arguing over human nature and Gambell’s theory.

Cedric, along with his friends, remained silent. He had no interest in these things, though he couldn’t help but admire Gambell’s unwavering belief.

“Alright then, boys. I’m glad I could rouse you from your sleep with my ramblings, but let’s end there for today. You see, I wanted you to start thinking about these things as you approach your preparation tests next week. The state of Takanova Island, as well as the direction of our domed country. Whether you end up as a soldier, a researcher, or a common worker, you all have the capability to mold our collective Will, and even our world, in what you do in life.”

His last words struck Cedric. As class dismissed and he made his routine trip to and from home to Castle Town, he thought about his father’s question. Whether he wanted to be the Heir or not, he knew that he would fight, and what he would fight for.

My duty as a Teuton.

My duty to myself…

I’ll fight…to discover that…and mold it.

As he looked up to the Dome, he felt his inner light begin to cut through the sea of cloud, if only by a bit.