Chapter 8:

"I’ll be disappointed if you tell me you are not wondering why you are here?"

Says Tsuk’A the moment Tzilpapali enters the plane. The presidential room in the plane is large, it has a table and a refrigerator. As the room is utilized for constant meetings, it is soundproofed and there’s no one except the two of them inside. Protection services are outside on two exits.

"You won’t be disappointed then. I am very curious as to why you’ve brought me here, your highness."

Responds Tzilpapali.

"Great, let me explain. You need hands on experience on the field. Since we can’t have you actually dying in a dangerous assignment, you’ll accompany me and you’ll see firsthand how recent combat zones look."

Says Tsuk’A, Tzilpapali nods.

"Also, how are your hand to hand skills progressing?"

When the empress says this, Tzilpapali is taken aback. However, she manages to muster a response.

"I’ve been training a couple of hours three times a week. According to my superiors, there’s nothing noteworthy about my development."

Tsuk’A crosses her arms and nods.

"That’s enough for me. You’ll enjoy being my sparring partner after our morning workout routine."

Upon hearing this, Tzilpapali’s eyes widen and she has to take a moment to collect her breath. She had experience sparring with some of the other recruits. However, she never expected Quixila to hit the mark when she said that the queen wanted her as a sparring partner. Tsuk’A’s voice takes her away from her thoughts.

"You really have no option except to agree. Better to do so quick."

Says Tsuk’A.

"I will be your sparring partner, your highness"

Responds Tzilpapali, prompting the empress to nod and continue speaking.

"Good, you learn. Not quickly, but you learn. Now, in a half hour, we’ll arrive in a nameless community a couple of miles west from Iltzik. Not one of your victims, to your luck."

"I don’t think they are victims. Your highness."

Says Tzilpapali, prompting Tsuk’A to scoff.

"And I don’t think people died when we conquered their cities. Real life is rude and says they did."

States Tsuk’A. Tzilpapali is unable to counter-argue anything that the empress says and simply responds.

"I understand, your highness."

"See, as I said, you learn."

Says Tsuk’A. And then continues.

"A special operative will receive me, you will follow along and remain quiet. If someone speaks to you, you can respond."

"Then I will do that, your highness."

Says Tzilpapali.

"And drop the “your highness” when we are here."

"Yes y...ok"

After saying that, Tsuk’A asks some questions to Tzil about how she went about building the Bluelight. Tzil answers every question and finds herself surprisingly invested through the conversation.

The jet doesn’t take long before it begins to land. A wide open space has been cleared up for it over a mountain with little to no vegetation on top. The jet takes moments to land, forcefully hitting the ground underneath and moving quickly even while losing speed. After a short while, it has reached a complete stop.

Both of them wait for a few seconds, then a bodyguard comes into the room and escorts them outside together with other 2 bodyguards in the front and 2 more entering the room from the back.

Following that, they head towards the exit of the plane. Outside, a couple of men have placed a moveable metal staircase right in front of the exit. Below, there’s dozens of armed men lying in wait for the empress. They stand in two files with enough space to walk comfortably between them. A woman makes her way through the middle of the lines.

Tzilpapali immediately recognizes the woman as one of the girls she saw that day at the bar in the Headless Square in Iltzik, Tlinyi. Tzil observes her, and assumes that she is the special operative that was waiting for them based on how she’s dressed. Tlinyi’s exchange with the empress confirms this.

"Good afternoon, your highness"

Says Tlinyi.

"Yes, good afternoon and all that. I’ve heard of the situation here, anything else you might want to tell me?"

Responds the empress.

"Right away, as you’ve heard, two small communities have gone through minor skirmishes. While the death toll remains below 50, both of them have support from a vast number of nearby settlements".

Tlinyi pauses, and Tsuk’A takes the time to speak during her pause.

-Before that, do we know why they are fighting?

Asks Tsuk’A

"Yes, your highness. A teenaged boy from one community, Johui, inadvertently reached the second community, Kenzek while jogging. Four Kenzekese young men took note of this and beat the boy to the point of serious injury. The boy is currently being nursed in the Johuian hospital. The Johuian community leader requested the Kenzekese boys to be tried."

The Kenzekese leader in turn said that they should be tried for a lesser crime. He stated that the young men could have assumed that the Johuian boy was an invader. Thus their behavior would be justified.

Attempts to find common ground were fruitless. Animosity between the two communities has existed for years now. This incident just provided an opportunity for both sides to take arms.--

Says Tlinyi, Tsuk’A nods in response. She responds immediately.

"So it’s a longtime neighbors’ tantrum. If we want them to play nice we’ll have to talk in another neighborhood."

Says Tsuk’A and then continues.

"Before that, I’ll need to see the breakdown neatly printed. Costs, losses, damages, anything that might make someone ask for more reparations. Have that ready at our base."

Tlinyi nods in response and says

"Right away, your highness"

After saying that, Tlinyi utilizes hand and voice commands to lead a large group of people in formation to surround the empress. A smaller squad accompanies her in another direction.

Tsuk’A and Tzilpapali find themselves followed by men in a rhombus around themselves. The men march at a brisk, uniform pace. Tsuk’A and Tzilpapali follow the same rhythm. Their advance leads them to a sandtower. Tzil has heard of these, but it’s the first time she’s seen one in person.

Many places along the Huitzlian Empire are lined with sandtowers. Remnants of a long gone country. The sandtowers are unfathomably tall vertical structures with a circular base and built in 3 layers that get progressively shorter and thinner. The towers were made from local brown stone, painted in bright red and blue hues and tightly packed together. They are fortified on the inside with steel.

The sandtowers have been repurposed as military bases due to their vantage point that allows Huitzlian men to survey the area for issues in nearby communities. They are also large enough to house several units worth of men and the provisions necessary to keep them healthy.

Tsuk’A and Tzil are taken to their rooms. Two rooms at the base of the sandtower and facing one another, with Tsuk’A’s being much larger than Tzil’s. The men remain on the outside, surveying the area. Tzil looks at Tsuk’A, who simply glances in the direction of Tzil’s room, indicating that the younger girl must head there.

While walking, she turns to see that empress Tsuk’A is being escorted by her bodyguards as well as a squadron of people. Tsuk’A reaches for her cellphone and starts calling people while she walks. Tzil can’t make out what the empress is saying. The most that the girl can do is understand that it’s a business call.

Tzil goes inside the room to see that her bag is already there. The room looks completely different from her room back in Otzin. Yet somehow it feels identical. The only change in herself that she can note is the added anxiety from not being near the Bluelight or her engineering suit.

Surmising that she’ll be told if she has to do something, Tzil lays in bed. The night is about to arrive. She feels languid in spite of having done much less than her usual training drills demand from her. Continuous body tension is far more tiring than any amount of exercise.

Tzil opens her bag. She pulls out a notebook, as well as red and black pens. The notebook she pulls out is one of her creation books. Every page in the notebook has something written down. Diagrams, measurements, amperage, voltage, and multiple references to similar, existing products. The pages also include notes on prototypes, and other ideas she comes up with as time goes by.

Her current book does not have any reference to the Bluelight. One of the conditions that Il’Ilo had to allow her to join the military was that she had to forfeit every reference to the Bluelight. However, it still had several concepts for improvements that could allow her to relax by occupying her mind.

Seeing older designs often allows her to come up with new solutions. Oftentimes she finds that she had the right idea applied erroneously. Others, proven solutions can be adjusted to achieve something new. For her, a bad planning day was only one where she couldn’t find a better way to tackle something she did before.

Tzil follows along with red and black pen. She utilizes the two to make clear differentiations when she needs to draw a diagram. She’s finds that organizing things from the start makes the whole process faster.

An interruption comes in the shape of a hard knock on the door, followed by two softer ones. Tzil leaves her notebook in her bed and stands up, walking briskly to the door and asking.

"Who’s there?"

To which she gets an immediate response.

"It’s me, Tlinyi."

Considering who Tlinyi has turned out to be, Tzil assumes that there’s some official reason for the sudden visit. Tzilpapali opens the door, letting in Tlinyi.

"Good afternoon, and nice to meet you, come on in."

Says Tzilpapali stiffly.

"Nice to meet? Friend-e we’ve already talked before, and you left."

Responds Tlinyi without missing a beat. Tzilpapali’s face warms up into a blush when she hears what the other girl says, but she keeps a cool visage. Enough so to lie into appearing undisturbed.

"I didn’t think you recalled that."

Says Tzil.

"Remembering faces is a habit I picked. I used to work on intelligence before they realized I’m kinda dumb."

When she says that, Tlinyi laughs heartily at her own joke. Tzil looks at her unflinchingly, taking a few moments to realize it’s not meant in earnest. Having heard that Tzil finally asks.

"Well that aside, what brings you here?"

"You bring me here! Well not you, you. Some of my bosses told me all about you and your big machine. All of that made me super curious, so I appointed myself as your private bodyguard."

"I need a private bodyguard?"

"Basically, Yes. This isn’t Otzin where nobody is going to do anything to you. People here are fierce you know? The moment they suspect anything, they’ll throw rocks at you or worse. Even for us, some folks don’t look too kindly on Huitzlian soldiers."

Tlinyi minces no words as she says that to Tzilpapali. In spite of the woman’s whimsical demeanor, she manages to make Tzil understand her situation. And keep a conversation going. Tlinyi continues.

"Now for the good part, do you have any drawings? A picture maybe?"

"Sadly no, all of them got taken away from me."

"Ah, I knew it, I knew it! And I still went and got my hopes up. One of these days though, will you show it to me?"

"Sure, if Quixila decides that that’s the drill for the day."

A fair share of stiffness remains coiled in Tzil’s spine when she says that. She glances to the left, then to the right, and taps her fingers while drumming on the bed and clenching her jaw. Feeling uncomfortable, she stands, speaking while she does.

"I think I’m going to take a look around."

"You...do realize that I’ll have to follow you,right?"

Says Tlinyi. Tzilpapali blinks twice, then once more, slowly. Her face is blank with the realization that she hadn’t put any foresight into what Tlinyi was going to do. In spite of herself, Tzil resigns to accepting the current turn of events for what it is.

"Now I do, hopefully you won’t mind."

"Mind? Tzilpapali that’s literally my job, I don’t get to “mind” it. I can think of worse ways to spend it than talking with a super genius mechanic if that’s what you mean."

That out of the way, Tlinyi fills the space with words that don’t add much to anything. It doesn’t take long for them to leave the room and begin walking around the sandtower. Tzil’s eyes wander about. She sees the armed folks sitting by lower level windows, waiting for orders from unseen watchers looking from a vantage point at the top level. They lay in wait on every level starting from the second onwards.

After looking at them for a while, Tzil turns her thoughts to the spacing between them. The windows are separated evenly, with all fou r of them having a distance between them that Tzil compares to the length of two trailer trucks carrying materials. Tzil gathers that each person deals with an area with a rough conical spread.

She wonders for a moment about the exact reasons why there would be guards in floors above the third. But she refrains from asking. Instead her eyes wander off. Tzil looks at the building for what it is or rather what it used to be.

The interior has both a newly built elevator, as well as dual flights of stairs that head up in every floor. The walls are rugged and uneven, built without doing much to polish the natural rocks acquired locally. And there’s the height above all.

Anywhere a person decides to stand, they’ll be able to gaze all the way to three floors above and three floors below. On a religious sense, Tzil recalls that the sandtowers are meant to honor Pochpoch. The god of writing and human creation enjoys monuments that reach for the skies, where only gods reach. It is not without pragmatism however, as Tzil notes to herself that it was probably as useful in past wars as it is in present ones.

"If you are wondering, friend-e, the local activities include getting bored and not having much to do to spend time."

Says Tlinyi after some minutes have gone by. A quizzical Tzilpapali turns around. When she speaks, she does so in a tightly held voice.

"I like the sights."

"I liked them too, for about a week or two. They start getting real old by the second month. By the third, you begin to scour the outside for ambush squads just to have something to do."

When Tlinyi says this, Tzilpapali manages to ask a proper question.

"Why is there so much security anyway, aren’t they fighting between themselves?"

"Well, yeah. And they really want to go at it. Some of them are none too happy that we came here to rain on their parade when they finally got the chance for a good ol’ rumble."

Tzil doesn’t answer when she hears this. She puts her brows together ad narrows her eyes without looking at Tlinyi, looking at the floor instead. Knowingly, Tlinyi continues.

"You look like you want to ask how can people be so stupid. If I were you, I’d get used to stupid and to dumb as well. Won’t take long before you are the one dealing with it."

Hearing this, Tzilpapali purses her lips in a sheepish stare. There’s not much she can reply to that when Tlinyi sees right through her. Instead, she takes that time to think. She continues heading upstairs, and Tlinyi follows suit.

After a while, she’s run out of floors to explore. There is still time in the day however, and lacking anything better to do, Tzil joins the people there in their daily exercise routines.

Exercising forces her to organize and recollect her thoughts. It lightens her tension, and clears her head of concerns. She’s taken a liking to it, the boot camp made arduous hours of work into routine. And that routine eventually gets easier, turning into something she looks forward to.

Later, Tlinyi says her good night for the day.

"There was not much to do today, ‘morrow maybe we’ll go to town. Ah by the way, the empress is gonna take two days or so to come back."

Tlinyi waits outside the door, Tzil nods and replies.

"Did she leave something for me to do?"

"Nope, we’ll figure that out later, night."

Tlinyi closes the door before Tzil responds. She has an answer to one of her questions, even if it’s not an answer that she enjoys hearing. What she has to do is nothing. What she can do is find some work. She assumes that there’s something that she can repair out there and assumes that her next day will be spent doing so.

She sleeps. The following day, force of habit makes her wake up early. Once woken up, it takes her some time to recognize where she is. Once she remembers, she begins to unpack. She puts the clothes she is going to wear aside, but doesn’t unpack everything in case she’s asked to leave for another town.

Once that is done, she orders her bed just as she’d do in Otzin, then heads for breakfast. Tlinyi is waiting in the dining room, ready to guard Tzilpapali for another day. Tzil assumes that Tlinyi saw her through the sandtower’s cameras.

"Good news!"

Says Tlinyi, skipping greetings, then she grabs Tzil by the shoulder and continues talking.

"Remember how I told you that I’d try to show you around outside? Today they gave me clearance to take you there. That’s gonna be pretty great."

"Yeah, that’s nice. Where are we going?"

Asks Tzil while walking to the cafeteria to take her food. The local vegetables and meat are good, as they are procured directly from Iltzik. She takes her tray to a table, and while she does, Tlinyi begins talking.

"We are heading to a town allied with the Kenzekese. Well I say allied but being real here for a moment, they like to say that they are not with anyone. Still you’ll see how it is, to see them ready to strike when things are about to get worse."

"I see"

"Yeah, the empress told me that it’d do you some good to see that".

Tzil nods, understanding her position. If the empress said something was good for her, she probably had something in mind. She feels at the very least, unencumbered of her concerns. For the time being she can focus on doing the thing she’s been asked to do.

"We’ll go there after breakfast, feel free to leave your stuff here though, we’re returning later."

Says Tlinyi. The two of them finish their meal then leave their trays. Afterwards, Tlinyi takes Tzil outside the tower, verifying that no one is coming to attack by talking to the guards. Once outside, a simple truck is waiting for them. The two climb in the back, and they are taken to a town.

Along the way, they feel the uneven ground pull away beneath the weight of their vehicle. As a deliberate decision, sandtowers have few roads connecting to them. Only the necessary ones to take supplies and people to and fro. This enables them to remain difficult to reach for belligerents while still being able to give a proper lifestyle to their inhabitants.

In turn, routes leading to unprotected cities and towns are rudimentary. Created more so by the constant flow of people and vehicles heading in the same direction than any form of foresight. Newly made roads connecting to major settlements are a priority for cities that have recently turned into protected ones.

"Wonder how long it will take for there to be a road between one of these places and Iltzik."

Says Tlinyi out loud. Curiosity gets the best of Tzilpapali, and she catches herself responding.

"You think they’ll get roads?"

"Well, we’ve been getting more since Tsuk’A became empress."

A detail that Tzilpapali is unfamiliar with —due to leaving her education relatively early on and focusing on her own machines instead—she’s only recently learning about Huitzli’s politics. Tzil is not doing so out of her own free will. Second-hand accounts keep reaching her one after the other.

"My fam might be happy if they do. Some cousins live around here, they’ll prob’ly move over."

Says Tlinyi

Tzilpapali doesn’t speak. From what she’s seen from having her workshop right in the middle wall of Iltzik, not everyone gets permission to enter. She assumes that it is a similar case with Tlinyi’s family, but hesitates to ask.

The truck comes to a halt. They’ve reached their destination. The two of them open the door, Tlinyi goes down first, then Tzil does so.

A gate of overgrown wildlife with remnants of steel poles hiding underneath stands in front of them. Once they’ve gone past it, they see the town. Unremarkable rows of cubic houses with little space between them stretch out for a short distance ahead.The local attractions, a temple, a large eatery, and a supermarket that probably serves more than one town, are visible at first glance.

They make their way through through one of the streets. Tzil notices the overall cleanliness of the place in spite of its isolation. The scarcity of people passing by doesn’t go past her unnoticed either. Effortful sounds of people toiling away at their in-garden fields are the only other signs of people.

For Tzil, it’s the first time that she’s been in such a small town. She’s heard of them from her father, and seen them from above with the Bluelight. Being in one’s a different experience. People work together focused on a single goal. Meanwhile Iltzik and Otzin are large enough to progress by existing.

Tlinyi takes Tzil to the local temple. A stone building, taller than the houses surrounding it, made out of large rectangular blocks. It has a pyramidal front with a local deity engraved in it, as well as a recently added wooden statue of a man carrying a snake in one hand and an armadillo in the other. Tzil recognizes this as a symbol of Zomocuhtli, the Huitzlian head god, a deity of war.

Inside, the temple is lit by carefully made apertures to the sides where no rain may enter, but sunlight still passes through. There’s 2 other entrances to the temple from the town, and one from the floor above where the local priest resides. In front of every entrance there’s a long space where people can kneel, followed by steps leading to an altar with a circular formation where the priest, a slender man in a red and black flowing cape stretching all the way down to become pants is currently standing.

"The river has brought young blood today. How do you intend to make your mark on our embankment?"

Says the priest cordially. His position and the architecture, allows his voice to bounce off evenly to every corner of the temple.

"We come to see. Tzilpapali hasn’t been here before."

Says Tlinyi. Prompting the priest to smile and step forward and bellowing.

"Seeing is always good, we all like seeing here. But what about hearing? If you are here, you might hear or you might listen to a blessing from Ilzopochtum. It might be a real one or he might choose to make it fake."

"Blessing, what blessing?"

Asks Tzil, her curiosity about the subject showing through.

"Just some words for some wonderful young bats."

Replies the priest.

"Yeah, sure throw ‘em at us, Tzilpapali seems to want them."

Says Tlinyi, at which point the priest begins to recite some words from memory.

—

Bring from the past

These words at last

Fortune follow

What dreams I cast

Let humble me tell humble you

Ilzopochtum will follow through

With what he deems from these words true

He’ll take our present, clutch it whole

With whims decided by his soul

Might he decide to be silent and wry

Rightful he’ll be if he gives it a try

Think not of what he might grant if he does

Just know that blessings always have a cause.

—

As he sings that, the priest moves his hands and his legs, directing himself in different moments to the temple itself, to Tzil, and to Tlinyi. The two of them nod in harmony and then thank the priest for his blessing. They remain in the temple for a short time, listening to the priest talk about the town and what the locals do every day.

By the time they end their talk it’s already time to eat. They head to the local eatery, where the townsfolk have gathered. The two of them receive suspicious glares from the people eating, however, the waiters are all dutifully polite.

Once they leave, the two of them head upstairs, where they’ll be staying. It’s a small guest house on top of the eatery with just enough space to accommodate people going from one town to the next.

Tzil and Tlinyi part ways at night, with each of them having a different room, both fairly small but with a restroom.

"Today was somewhat fun"

Manages to say Tzil while they were doing their goodbyes.

"We won’t get many chances to do this. Glad you liked it!"

Replies Tlinyi. Both of them then lock their doors for a good night rest. Tzil doesn’t bother to change, since her clothes are fairly comfortable and she is taking a shower in the morning anyway. It doesn’t take her long to fall asleep.

A strepitous tremor wakes her from her slumber. She recognizes the sound as a gunshot, and confirms this when she hears another and another. Without thinking, she follows the process that she’s learned from her training drills. She puts on her boots and stands up immediately and locates the source of the sound, which she hears outside. After, she opens the door while standing with her back on the wall, and when she sees that no one is coming, she exits her room.

After, she repeats the procedure on the opposite room, Tlinyi’s room. Standing with her back to the wall right besides the door knob, and delivering a hard donkey kick on the knob. The door breaks open to reveal an empty room to Tzilpapali’s relief.

Immediately, she takes cover as well as she can, next to the stairs and surveys the area. Seeing no one in the vicinity, she heads downstairs where she takes a cutlery knife to arm herself as best she can. Then, upon noticing that the entrance leads to the main street, she looks at the window to check if there’s anyone.

As no one has arrived yet, she exits through the window, standing up straight without further ado. Her heart pulsates fast, warming her all the way to her face where she keeps her jaw clenched and her eyes wide. The only thing allowing her to make decisions is the constant practice of combat scenarios that she endured in Otzin. She clenches her knife, keeping it close to herself, and tries to get a better look at the situation by walking towards the main street and then back again.

There’s five men in formation, indicating that they are part of some army. Tzil can’t take the time to see them properly, but she notices that they aren’t wearing standard-issue Huitzlian armor. Nor can she notice any other form of protection, so she assumes that they are some other towns’ militia.

She runs to the opposite side. There’s a side street that is still wide enough for a vehicle to pass through. She notices that there’s only one man in the area, and not enough buildings for a second one to hide. The man would immediately notice her presence if she walks out of her spot since he has a good view of her alley..

The man is armed with a handgun. She gets a good look at his wear, A sleeveless white shirt and grey pants that reach just below the knees. A type of outfit usually worn by rice farmers. Tzil is trapped on both sides.

It takes her a second to weather her options. Eventually accepting that she’ll have to leave her alley at some point or risk getting surrounded. A knot forms on her throat when she decides on what to do, nausea is seconds away from consuming her.

Tzil runs at full speed. The man is less than 4 steps away, which puts him at lethal range for the knife. She closes in on the inside of his guard before he has a chance to aim and shoot, then stabs the wrist of the hand holding the gun before he has the chance to put both hands together. Then immediately she takes a reckless swing at him, missing by an inch. He drops his gun and she kicks it off to the side.

A scream leaves the man who steps back, while Tzil takes her combat stance. She bends slightly forward with her left foot and left arm forward, both knuckles closed and protecting her face. The standard Huitzlian “Prisoner” stance that excels in grappling and is still good in trading blows.

She steps forward and stomps the man’s foot with her left boot. Then hits him with a right elbow to the jaw. While the man stumbles backwards, about to faint, Tzil steps on his knee with her boot, breaking it backwards with a loud cracking noise. While he falls, she finishes with a straight jab from her left hand to the man’s forehead, finally knocking him out.

While she is thankful for having trained in hand to hand combat in Otzin, as well as for the fact that the man in question was probably untrained. She understands that the only reason she remains unharmed is because she used the element of surprise. Luck doesn’t favor her. She spots a second figure, a woman, armed with a large carving knife. The woman noticed Tzil and is running towards her.

Tzil knows her training, and she knows that nobody wins a knife fight. She thinks about running away and getting the gun for a few seconds, but she is unsure about outrunning her. Suddenly, she hears the sound of a motor closing in. She turns around to see a Huitzlian truck approaching.

When she notices this, Tzil runs towards the woman. Her heart stops for a moment and her vision turns black, with her body acting a set of premeditated motions before she can realize what is happening. Her conscious mind turns off in the process for fear of being exhaling her last breath.

She launches her left foot forward, sole facing the front and aiming at destabilizing the woman. Then she grabs the arm with the knife, and with the other hand, she pushes hard. Once she knows that the woman has lost all sense of balance, she lets go and runs off to the side. The woman does not manage to slice Tzil, but she manages to get a lucky blow to her jaw. The blow tilts her head and pulls her neck, causing tremendous pain that extends from her chin to her cheekbone, and for Tzil’s ears to hurt and ring continuously.

Seconds later, and she’s already away from the truck’s path, which still swerves to avoid hitting Tzil, but runs over the woman, crushing some part of her and making her scream dryly. The back door of the truck swings open. A man dressed in full Huitzlian military attire shouts.

"Miss Tzilpapali, climb in!"

Tzil runs as fast as she can and goes inside the truck, then closes the door. She is relieved to see that everyone inside is Huitzlian in origin.

"How did you find me so fast?"

Asks Tzil, her chest still thumping hard from what just happened which she still hasn’t processed completely. She completely forgets to thank the men as a result.

"We didn’t we just sent trucks down every street near where you were staying."

Replies the man in the back of the truck next to her.

"Many of us were sent to follow you two while you were here. The empress didn’t want anything happening to you. Speaking of, where’s your bodyguard?"

Asks the man.

"Tlinyi was not in her room."

The man furrows his brow slightly, but doesn’t react beyond that. While he does, Tzil’s adrenaline begins to subside. She feels tired, intensely so and in a way she’s never felt before. Normalcy begins to permeate her thought process and she is back to being who she always was.

Her first instinct is to unconsciously try to make sense of what had just happened. A flood of images rushes into her brain, connecting dozens of memories she’s had. At best, she can equate the level of surreal focus that she gained the moment she knew that her life was in danger, to the added layer of perception that the R-Suit provides.

It doesn’t take long for a second feeling to kick in. A burn, that begins in her stomach and goes to her chest, then throat, then mouth. She opens the window hastily, and pukes. A shower of vomit hits the town’s streets. It takes her a long while to stop expelling her insides.

While she does, she contemplates what she’s done. Tzil escaped as fast as she could, without concerning herself for any civilian that could have been in harm’s way. Not the priest and not the owners of the inn. And she did so while hurting people who were clearly untrained.

It is fairly possible, even likely, that the man survived while being gravely hurt. Nevertheless, thinking about her second assailant causes a heavy chill to bring her down. What she knows is what she saw and what she heard, and from that she cannot know anything for sure. Coming from within, some hidden part of her decides to be selfish. She decides to believe that the woman is alive.

——————————

More and more, Il’Ilo finds that his days are spent looking at maps and parsing through analyses. That day is no different, he observes a map with keen interest. The map shows the Huitzlian Empire, as well as the two countries to the south.

The Holy Kingdom of Ilvyria sits directly below the Huitzlian Empire. The two countries are separated by a long sea, and only truly connected at one point, roughly fifty kilometers wide, in the manner of a bridge with just a narrow river preventing the eastern side from turning into a lake.

The southeastern border of the Huitzlian empire does have a larger landmass connecting it to the rest of the southern part of the continent. However, Il’Ilo is unconcerned by the country of Kashar which rules those lands, as it is a neutral nation focused on mercantile connections.

Knowing that, however, Il’Ilo is left at an impasse as to how the Ilvyrian empire will proceed. Their attack is considered an absolute certainty by most Huitzlian authorities, even if day and night, the Huitzlian Empire trains diplomats to stem it. What Il’Ilo and his people are left to figure out, is the how.

At first glance, an aerial attack focused on assailing the border cities seems like the most likely choice. It’s the easiest way for the Ilvyrians to cause a large amount of damage as aerial units are able to retreat as quickly as they are able to attack. Nevertheless, aside from their R-Suits, the Ilvyrians have a considerably lesser air force than the Huitzlians.

More importantly for Il’Ilo. The Ilvyrians are interested in acquiring as much land as possible. They have a vested interest in maintaining that land as usable as they can. And added to all of that, the unprotected cities and tribute states that line the border, are primed to become easy settlements for the Ilvyrians.

Because of this, Il’Ilo knows that there’s a high chance of being attacked from the land. The passage is small and there’s not much room for maneuvers, but it leaves both sides in near equal position. The advantage granted by their superior number of R-Suits is negligible, as war law forbids the usage of multiple R-Suits at once against a single enemy unless one is defending from multiple R-Suits. And it is also forbidden to utilize R-Suits against settlements further than a hundred kilometers from a military base.

As such, risking a fully committed land attack could open Ilvyria to a surprise aerial attack from another end. Il’Ilo traces this possibility regardless, utilizing pieces of string and nails on the map to color code the potential situations. Something about the idea of a land attack remains with him regardless, so he keeps it in mind for later discussions.

A voice from the outside interrupts him.

"I’m here sir."

It’s a youthful male voice. One that allows Il’Ilo to immediately release his back with reassurance. Il’Ilo values competence, and there’s few people who uphold that value more than his two young confidants, Quixila, and the owner of that voice, general Zocoyotl, Tsuk’A’s nephew.

"You’re early, but I’m glad you are. Come in."

Says Il’Ilo. Zocoyotl enters. He is slightly taller than average and with a hardened, albeit svelte build. When he speaks, he does so soothingly, but with a convincing sense of purpose around him. Zocoyotl stands straight, with his arms crossed behind his back.

"Sit down son"

Orders Il’Ilo, allowing Zocoyotl to place himself on the chair in a formal manner, his back remains straight as a sturdy wall. Il’Ilo continues.

"At this point, you’ve heard that I chose you personally to accompany the ambassador to Ilvyria. I hope you don’t resent me for this. I’ve thought of every possibility that would keep you out of harm’s way, but none of them work."

"I’m well aware sir. My family is rather happy about all this. They say many in the high command room won’t hesitate to nominate me as emperor candidate after this".

Responds Zocoyotl. Il’Ilo takes it on himself to ask more from the boy.

"Yes, you haven’t had your chance to prove yourself since Tsuk’A stopped the Huitzlian expansion. But is this really fine with you?"

"It’s never been my call to make sir."

"You didn’t answer my question."

"I’ll do what I have to because I have to. What happens after I’m done is beyond my control sir."

Il’Ilo nods and refrains from telling Zocoyotl to stop with the formalities. The young man believes in respect above all else. Il’Ilo knows this as it’s something that Zocoyotl hasn’t changed since he was a child.

"Well then, I trust your eye and good sense to tell me what you think. How the Ilvyrian community works, how they talk, how they think, what they are preparing. If you personally think it’s important, your instinct is probably right."

"I will do so sir, thanks for counting on me."

"You can leave now. And if anything happens, tell us as soon as possible."

"I’ll prepare for my leave then. Have a good afternoon sir."

"Have a good afternoon Zoco."

After Zocoyotl leaves, Il’Ilo continues his work. He’d like to spend some time talking out his concerns over the boy. But he has far too much work to return home early.