Lotti Hasard was not charismatic when she was young. She struggled through her teenager years to make friends and struggled to stand out. No one from her younger years has recollections of her except that she was astoundingly powerful. They all remember her power, but not her.

However, Lotti became charismatic when she was in mid-twenties—when she started a rebel group. Perhaps she realized that she needed more people to have a bigger influence. Her name echoed throughout Gala, but this time, it was not solely because of power.

—Sharron Gains, The Red Witch, Vol I, Ch.4.

September, 16, Monday, Year of 1842. Veradis Candor.

Veradis does not like to run. He, especially, does not like to run ten more rounds than anyone else in his unit, but Colonel Reina expects too much of him for his own liking. She watches him run, stiff and straight as a stick. She notes something down. She is short, but Veradis knows that it does not stop her from looking down on every person that she meets.

As soon as he’s finished running, Reina turns and walks away without a single word. He breathes deeply, cursing her retreating back, which is partially covered by her long, black hair. When she is out of his sight, he starts walking to the flag post, where Lily, his childhood friend—as he and she insist quite often in public—waits for him every day, watching him do the extra training ordered by Colonel Reina. Lily always sits on a raised elevation near the centre of flag post.

The Cyran flag is above her. It has three vertical strips—dark blue, yellow and then dark blue again. The strips are accompanied by an emblem—a black wolf. The emblem stands for their history, the rich presence of wolves in their forests, and how they believe in unity as a group, as a country, as a pack.

Veradis wipes off his sweat with a white handkerchief when he approaches Lily. Most of his handkerchiefs are gifts from her. “Extra ten rounds, huh?” she mutters, her sweet voice instantly making Veradis feel lighter. It always does. “She definitely expects a lot from you. She doesn’t treat anyone else specially, huh, rainbow boy?”

Veradis nods in response, still breathing heavily. They slowly start walking to the 'food plaza,' as Lily likes to call it, despite it mostly being just a large hall with old chairs and tables Every single day, it takes them five minutes to walk there, another five minutes to grab their food and then forty minutes to devour the same. The way is always a little crowded, but the tables are more than often empty and they quickly sit on any table that they can get, even though Lily prefers to have a table far in the back where she can smell the aroma leaking out of the kitchen.

The food today is just like any other days; not bad, not good. That doesn’t seem to affect Lily too much, but Veradis has grown tired of eating the same food over and over. As days go by, he finds himself finishing his food faster and faster. “How is your day so far?” Veradis asks. He always starts lunch the same way.

“It has been quite well,” Lily answers. Always the same, too.

They then gossip about the fellow soldiers, their superiors and their roommates, then talk about any new discoveries that they made and then eventually get bored enough to just stare at each other in silence. And suddenly they are not bored anymore. He could spend days looking at her. Blue eyes, just like most Cyrans, and blonde hair tied into a ponytail. The blue uniform suits her very well. She is 21 years old but she looks younger than him, despite him being almost two years younger.

As soon as they are done eating, they take a walk. They still have an hour left until they need to go back to training. “My father will be visiting three days later,” Veradis says.

Lily stops walking for a moment. “Visiting the camp?”

Veradis nods. “It’s an informal visit to meet me. He is not visiting as a Brigadier.”

Lily starts walking again, smiling wryly, “I need to keep my best dress prepared, then.”

“You don’t have to meet him if you don’t want to,” Veradis says.

“No,” Lily says, “I will not run away. I will make him accept us, one way or the other.”

Veradis’ father is not fond of Lily, mostly because she comes from a commoner background....but really, his father will have to manage. He has no plans on giving her up.

As they walk a bit more, they notice soldiers rushing past them. One of them quickly approaches them and says, “Did you not receive the instructions? Everyone is called to the central grounds. Colonel Reina has an announcement to make! Hurry!”

Veradis and Lily both frown at each other, then turn and start rushing to the central grounds. To call every single soldier of the 44th unit of Cyra…there must be something big going on. There are 1200 soldiers in the unit, and that does not include the superiors.

When Veradis reaches at the ground, there are some 600 soldiers assembled already. Veradis glances up to see Colonel Reina holding a letter in a red seal. The urgent sign from the Cyran crown. Something has happened.

“Veradis, what’s happening?” Lily asks, noticing the same.

“How am I supposed to know? Colonel Reina will tell us soon.”

And Colonel Reina does just that after ten minutes. She stands right below the flag, and shouts, “Silence, everyone.” She pauses a moment to let the noise die, then points at the letter in her hand. “I have an announcement to make. The Kingdom of Cyra has officially declared war on Gala. As the 44th land unit, we will now march to Gala and invade from the east, joining forces with the 27th unit on our way.”

“…Why?” Lily asks, her voice faint. She grasps Veradis’ right arm with her her left hand. There are whisperings again and chaos ensues as the superiors do their best to ensure silence. Even though Reina does not hear Lily’s question, she answers, “The crown demands the war. There is officially no reason provided to me, but my trust in crown is enough of a reason for me—and I believe it should be enough for all of you as well. The legion commanders will stay behind. Everyone else is dismissed. We leave at the first light tomorrow. Victory to King Aidan! Victory to Cyra!”

Her words are followed by cheers from the crowd, but Lily’s face is full of panic. “Are you OK?” Veradis asks, making Lily look at his eyes. “Th—this is stupid,” Lily says, clutching his arm tighter. She breathes deeply and continues, “Gala is a poor nation. Why would we go in a war with them? I joined the army so I could fight against the inhuman Najaks, not—not to oppress people that are already struggling.”

“I…” Veradis attempts to say something, but he is in dilemma. He agrees with Lily, but he admits that there might be genuinely relevant reasons for the war that he might not know. A part of him also feels that it is his duty as a soldier to do what is best for his nation; the Galans are not his responsibility. “I’m sure King Aidan has something in his mind,” Veradis finally says. “We should trust him, for now. He wouldn’t wage this war without a reason.”

The soldiers start diffusing out of the ground, and both Veradis and Lily glance at Colonel Reina. She seems to be talking to a few superiors in a semicircle. Lily tugs his arm for a moment, then says, “I suppose you’re required there.”

Veradis nods, starts to say something, stops and then speaks again, “I’ll meet you at dinner.”

Lily nods. “I do not like this, Veradis,” she says, quietly. She does not let go off her hold on Veradis’ arm. “We are one of the strongest nations on our continent. It does not suit us to pick on one of the weakest nation and abuse them. They don’t have too many resources either. What will we loot them off? Why did this happen, Veradis? Why are we focusing on Gala when there are countless Nahjaks and bandits from Bern that are harassing, pillaging and murdering many of our country?”

“I do not know,” Veradis replies. “but I have to go. If I find out about something, I will let you know, OK?”

Lily nods then releases his arm slowly and undecidedly. He gives her a small final smile before running towards the center of the ground, glancing at the flag. Just like his uncertain heart, the Cyran flag continues to wave and flutter.

September, 16, Monday, Year of 1842. Nina Gray.

Nina wakes up on a hard, rocky bed in her dorm. It has been three days since she has arrived as the rebel camp. She glances around, and notices that everyone else has left to train. She isn’t allowed to do so, of course. All she has to do is meet Lotti daily and let her experiment on her.

She gets up after fifteen minutes and tours the place again. The tiles are grey and boring, but the walls are painted brightly. There are an excessive amount of rooms at equal small distances from the corridor. It’s an abandoned school. If Nina were to glance at the building from outside, Nina would have never guessed that the rebels resided in it.

She walks until she sees a big opening in the roof. It is on the left side of the corridor and rectangular in shape. There are two shiny grey ropes hanging in the middle of it, going through all the floors. She noticed the hole day before yesterday but still does not understand its purpose. Today, however, there is an old man mumbling to himself underneath the hole. He has a cane in his hand, with which he supports himself, even as he stands still.

Nina taps her right leg against the floor, “Excuse me.”

The man snaps out of his mumbling, turning to Nina. His hair is entirely grey and he wears big, round spectacles. “Hm? What do we have here? A new face?”

“Yes, I’m one of the new recruits.” Nina says.

He snorts. “Skipping training in your first week?”

“It’s…it’s complicated, Sir,” Nina says.

He eyes her suspiciously, tilting his head.

Nina changes the topic immediately. “Are…are these ropes for climbing up?” She imagines magicians using air magic and climbing up using the grey ropes.

The old man laughs and turns to Nina. “These steel wires that you call ropes will indeed help people climb up and down, but not in the way you think.”

Nina cannot for the life of her figure what a hole through multiple floors and ropes accomplish. “This will be an elevator,” the man says proudly, examining Nina’s clueless face.

“Elevator?” The word is foreign to her.

He can hardly contain the giddiness and pride in his voice as he explains, “Yes, an elevator. These steel wires will be attached to a container so people can travel up and down without any effort. They were first used in Cyra but after six years it seems like Gala is finally catching up!”

Nina is still quite clueless so she frowns. The old man catches it. “Do not worry,” he says. His voice is kind, and it reminds Nina of her father. “You will understand when you see it in action, but come see me if you still want to know more about it.”

Nina nods.

He looks at her, then says, “Let me give some advice to you. There is a lot to learn here. I don’t know what happened to you, but most come here for revenge. Do not be like them. Clear your mind and learn something. There are so many things to learn here. Science. Magic. History… Again, I do not know whether you are lucky or unlucky to be here, but here you are and you should make the most of it.”

Nina nods slowly. “When will the elevator be ready?” she asks.

“A week more,” comes the reply.

She gazes at the hole for a minute, then asks, “What is the time?”

The old man takes out his pocket watch. “3 minutes to 9.”

“I should go have breakfast,” she says, and leaves him. Others are instructed to train from 8 AM to 4 PM, but she has nothing of that sort. All she has to do is show up in Lotti’s room every day from 5 PM to 8 PM.

Spending everyday with her is a nightmare, but Lotti promised that she will get to the bottom of Nina’s magic, which is why Nina has not ran away yet. She wants—no, she needs to know why she is a cripple.

The canteen takes up almost the entirety of the second floor but it is mostly empty currently because everyone is training. She sits alone and eats. Soup, a banana, some chicken and some bread. After eating, she wanders up to the library.

The library is massive, and Nina is allowed inside without any hassle. There are about twenty more people inside the library. She goes by bookshelf to bookshelf, trying to decide what to read today. There is a clock in the library, and according to it, she takes an entire hour to decide what to read. Rise of Calleche. History, biography, tactics. Perfect.

The book is a biography on Calleche, also generally known as The Emperor. She has read a few books on Calleche but they all focused on his life after he came to the power. Five hundred years ago, he had united the continent of Adrias to form a single nation. The book goes through his childhood life, and how he dreamed of a unified continent when he was only 12.

“Only 12! And I still have no goal or dreams at 16!” Calleche’s life is so intriguing to Nina that she forgets to have lunch. She keeps glancing at the clock once she has realized that she missed lunch. Hundred pages to go. 4:00. Eighty pages to go. 4:15. She picks up the pace. Twenty-five pages left. 4:47. She really wants to finish it, but she keeps it back on the shelf and heads to the top floor, where there are three massive doors and a guard.

Nina waits about two minutes before knocking on Lotti’s gigantic red door. It opens instantly. “Come inside,” says a voice from inside, and Nina spots Lotti, sitting on a black dining table in the middle of the room. Nina walks in, and the door behind her closes and locks. Wind magic. How convenient. Nina quickly takes the seat in front of Lotti under Lotti’s instructions. She is dressed up in a black and white uniform which is apparently their training attire. Nina does not understand why a rebel group needs a uniform or why the leader of the rebel group wears the uniform too, but she has learned to keep her mouth shut in front of Lotti. A small impulse of a reaction from her can be the end of Nina—or well, most people. It is still quite difficult to believe that she is sitting in front of someone so famous and powerful.

Even while seated, Lotti is so tall that Nina feels uncomfortable leading her to look around the massive and well-furnished room. Lotti is very proud of her wine collection and her book collection.

“Cripple,” Lotti snaps Nina’s attention back, “Focus.” And so today’s experiment begins. “The past two days you tried to use magic through various means—both conventional and unconventional,” Lotti says, “And…we failed. Today we’ll see how your body reacts to magic. Show me your hand.”

Nina brings her right hand forward, and Lotti clicks her finger, throwing a fireball at it. Nina screams instantly. “How does it feel?” Lotti asks.

“It feels hot…obviously.”

“So nothing abnormal there.”

Lotti creates water and drops it on Nina’s hand. “No pain? No reaction?”

Nina shakes her head in confusion. “It’s just water.”

“Yes, but it is water made using magic. Natural water often forms slowly, but the water we make with magic is instantaneous. This leads to a few differences, especially on the microscopic level.”

“I…see,” Nina digests the information. Her knowledge of magic is deplorable since she was taken out of the school at 14, the age when magic classes start. Her hatred for magic also stopped her from reading and learning more about it.

There is a knock at the door, and Lotti asks, annoyed, “Who is it? I’m busy!”

“Walter,” comes a loud rushed reply. “It is urgent.”

Lotti opens the door and locks it again with wind magic as Walter steps in.

“What is the matter?”

“It’s Cyra!” Walter struggles to find proper words, out of breath. “Cyra has declared war on Gala.”

Lotti scowls, furrowing her eyebrows. “Why? I thought Cyra liked their peace. Is…Is it confirmed?”

“Yes,” Walter says, worried, “I checked it five times from five different sources.”

Nina is unsure of whether she should take her leave as Lotti and Walter discuss, but she remembers the old man’s words. But here you are and you should make the most of it. Maybe she could help with something and finally not be powerless anymore. So she stays.

“Who do we stand with?” Walter asks, momentarily glancing at Nina.

“We don’t want a foreign invasion,” Lotti says, “but we don’t want the current corrupt government to win either. This nation is not going to be improved by those crooked nobles enjoying life in the capital.”

“But Cyra will take the crown out easily.”

“No, they won’t,” Lotti snaps, “We are very poor in resources, but our nation’s magic lines are one of the purest. They have better weapons, better technology and a better chance to win this war, but no way will this be a walk in the park for them if everyone resists.”

Nina twitches ever so slightly as she says, “Is there any way with which you can take over the crown? Won’t the capital be unguarded if some soldiers are sent away to fight?”

Lotti’s eyes widen for a moment, and Walter speaks, “But that won’t solve the problem. Cyra is invading us.” There is silence for five seconds.

Lotti breaks the silence, a glow in her voice. “It might help. Most soldiers will be out to fight, and the others will protect the nobles, leaving the crown relatively unguarded. If we take over the crown, we can use the remaining soldiers to fight. We will still be outnumbered quite heavily but we will have a terrain advantage. This war is not impossible to win, especially if I command the army.” She breathes, then says slowly, “Go announce the war, but not our plans.”

Walter nods and runs out of the room. “That was a good idea,” Lotti smiles at Nina. It is a horrible thin smile that makes Nina want to punch her face. “I was thinking of assisting the crown and then backstabbing it but this idea is better. It gives us an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.”

Nina is unsure about what to say, but she can tell that Lotti is now more interested in her. She’s not convinced that it’s a good thing. “The army doesn’t consist of only fighters,” Lotti says, “Maybe it was a mistake to keep you only as an experiment subject, eh? On a scale this big, tacticians are required as well. Would you want to train to be one?”

Nina’s eyes widen with realization. Tactician! Of course! You don’t need magic to be a good tactician. She knew about tacticians and she knew she would be good at it but the idea of becoming one never came to her. She almost feels insulted now that it is pointed out to her. It feels obvious. It feels like destiny. Nothing has ever felt so clear before.

“Yes…yes! I want to be a tactician.” Nina says, her heart fluttering like a butterfly. What is this feeling called, she wonders. It feels nostalgic.

“Is that so?” Lotti’s smile grows wider and grows to be even more disgusting. She opens a closet with wind and takes out a black and white board and a box. The box contains some 30 wooden pieces.

“What is this?”

“They call this chess in the west,” Lotti continues smiling. “This is the first and the smallest test that I want you to pass. I will explain the rules.”

Nina listens to Lotti’s explanation, and two minutes in, the name of the feeling hits her. Alive. For the first time since her magic results ruled her a cripple, Nina Gray feels alive.