While the magical beasts can use nine elements, we humans can only use up to seven elements. Fire, air, water and earth are common amongst humans, but light, dark and lightning magic are rarer. Being blessed with six elements is extremely rare, and they’re sought all around the lands, but the ones truly blessed are the ones with seven elements, the spectrums, the avatars of Rudis.

—The Church of Rudis

October 29, Tuesday, Year of 1842. Nina Gray.

According to Lotti, the amount of Galans that are joining New Gala have been overwhelming, and Nina can certainly see that now, standing inside the Stagford town hall. She peeks outside a window to see thousands of people waiting for news from the assembly conducted by Lotti. It makes sense, Nina supposes, since the red witch was already quite famous, and people still generally support her actions against the bandits and the corrupt nobles.

Nina feels that the nobles are terrible, but she also feels that they don’t deserved to be tortured heavily. No one deserves to be, but Lotti doesn’t pay much heed to her. Nina still clearly remembers what Lotti said. “The two things I like is people respecting me or me hurting them. If the nobles cannot respect and accept me, I will at least hurt them.”

Lotti finally appears on the floor. She’s with her best squad, as she calls it, with the exception of Raze, who is next to Nina. There is a new soldier amongst them, named Ethan, that only joined recently. Lotti has told Nina about him, but she has yet to talk to him.

Lotti wears her black and white military uniform. Perhaps it’s only because how every guard and person bows and makes way for her when she arrives, but despite standing amongst everyone in the same uniform, she stands out very clearly.

Raze and Walter stick close to Nina, making her stand out even more between the two tall men. Nina nervously glances at Ethan, who seems to be the only one with similar height near her. He glances back at her, looks up to Raze and Walter, and then smiles at Nina, whispering, “I know how that feels.” Nina decides she likes him.

They all go inside a room with Nina, joining their guests. “I’m glad that so many of you have taken time to assemble here,” Lotti shouts over the noise of the crowd outside, playing with her red hair. “Walter, I understand, has selected all of you based on your strength and leadership capabilities. Most of you are hailed as Galan heroes in various fields, but I do not care for that. All that matters is how useful you are to me. That is all…I suppose. Walter will take care of the rest.” Then Lotti leaves the room, glancing at Walter, Raze and Nina in order.

Walter coughs as soon as Lotti is outside the door, and directs all of the attention to himself. Nina realizes that Walter has shaved for the occasion. He walks to the round table and sits at the head’s position which leads an invited woman to gasp.

Walter, presumably, quickly raises an air barrier over the entire room, and the background noise of the people gathered outside the town hall fades, making it easy to listen to anyone that talks.

“Walter, is the Queen that busy that she does not even time to talk to her subjects?” An old man asks in a feeble voice. He has almost no hair left, but impressively, the few ones that he has are still black.

Walter shrugs. “She has to leave for an important Cyran ball party in a week,” he says, “Besides, you are not her subjects. As already written in the letter, she vehemently opposes the autocratic government that Gala has. She does not want nobles in her land…but she does still need people to govern over areas, especially because we are growing so rapidly.”

The faces on the table brighten and Walter pauses a moment before he continues, “Even though I say govern, none of you will be allowed to make or break any laws. All land in New Gala is owned by the Queen and she will lend—”

“What kind of nonsense is this?” A particularly plump woman asks, “She does not own the land that my father passed to me.”

Walter glances at her, then sighs as a few more people complain about the same. Walter looks at the plump woman, a dangerous look on his face. “This isn’t up for dispute, Bonnie. Be careful when pronouncing the Queen’s orders as nonsense.”

Bonnie scowls, but does not say anything. Walter nods, satisfied, and then continues, “You all will be enforcers, not rulers. New Gala has only one ruler. All laws will be made, changed or removed by only the Queen…and it is your duty to uphold to those laws faithfully.”

“What do we get in return?” A burly man asks.

Walter smiles. “Wages.”

“And?” He asks, anxious. “No titles? No land?”

“The land, as I already said, is all owned by the Queen, so you’ll be allowed to borrow a medium size estate in the area you govern. As for your titles, you…I suppose…will be the head enforcers. It does not come with any privileges.”

“All of us already have lands…so all we are getting is a salary and a useless title? We might as well be servants!”

Nina smiles. Not just them, but everyone in New Gala might as well be Lotti’s servants. That’s just how Lotti is. For the first time, Nina realizes how lonely it must be for Lotti, for she has no friends—only servants and pieces.

She notices Ethan looking at her quizzically, and hence drops her smile. Ethan opens his mouth, closes it, and then opens it again to say, “I was going to compliment you on your smile. You should have kept it.”

Nina looks at him, frozen for two moments, then smiles again.

Walter continues when the murmurs finally die, “The wages are 15000 takas a month, but they will be increased with the inflation. Either way, it is quite enough for a decent life, is it not?”

Bonnie growls, “Are you insulting me? Only 15000 takas? I’ve seen some impure make more than that! Why would anyone want this job?”

Walter looks at her. “Did you read the letter I sent you? I already mentioned that we will be working together for the betterment of people, did I not? Is that not why you all gathered here? Or did you assume that you will be granted land, title, money and honour like nobles? Everyone in this nation is a servant to the betterment of the nation.”

Bonnie glares at him, then gets up. “I cannot stand this any further,” she says, and another man joins her to head outside.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Walter says. “The only way outside accessible to you is through the front door…and there’s at least a thousand people outside.”

Walter drops the air barrier, and shouts, “Can you see how much the crowd is cheering for Her Majesty?” He pauses, then says, “I’m sure they’ll have questions about what transpired here in the meeting. Not that I would wish such a fate on you, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they lynch you, realizing that you did not take up this job. Her Majesty’s supporters tend to be…radical.”

The men on the table talk to each other, but Nina cannot hear them until an air barrier is raised yet again. “Is he out of vigour already?” She hears Della ask. It doesn’t seem like a question.

“This isn’t Walter’s barrier?” Nina asks, and Della glances at her, as if surprised at the fact that she could speak. After a moment, Della says, “This is my barrier. Walter will waste all of his vigour if he raises another air barrier this big. He’s not a soldier by any means.”

Nina is about to say something when she notices Raze is glancing at both of them, his index finger to his lips. She instantly closes her mouth. Raze is the second last person that she wants to anger.

Nina focuses back on the table, where they seem to be arguing with Walter. “We can just use the back exit!” A short man says, “That’s how we entered.”

Walter tilts his head, then says, “That exit is not for civilians. I’m sorry, but you will have to leave using the main entrance.”

The man says, slowly, “We…entered…through…it.”

“Only because you were special guests. If you leave this meeting without taking the job…you are no longer our special guests.”

The old man coughs, then says, “So if we do not accept the job, we have to face the thousand people outside…isn’t it? I see…you have held us hostages.”

Walter looks at the old man, and says, “It is unfortunate that it turned out this way.”

“Don’t give me that crap!” Bonnie screams, “You had this meeting advertised! You planned for all those people outside!” She pushes air at Walter in frustration, but before Walter hits the wall with the chair, he—or someone else— pushes the air back. Bonnie unsheathes her sword, lunging and Nina has to wonder how someone that big can run so fast.

Bonnie never reaches Walter. Della and Lynx are quick, and they disarm her. “Take her to the prison. Her Majesty might enjoy time with her afterwards.” Walter says. He does not sound angry.

Lynx looks at Walter, conflicted, but then is thrown outwards by Bonnie’s air magic.

“You should restrain yourself before you find yourself in more trouble,” Walter warns her. “You fifteen are here because you are popular. Her Majesty believes that you have a duty to uphold to the people because of that.”

Bonnie does not seem to be listening, and lunges towards Walter once again. She has to stop because an arrow passes in front of her, almost hitting her. The arrow hits the wall, and she looks at the source of the arrow to find Hawk, already ready to shoot the next arrow.

Before she can do anything, Della hits the back of Bonnie’s neck with her sword’s hilt three times, over and over. Then, she pauses, and hits once again, just to make sure, Nina supposes. Lynx raises Bonnie using the air, then groans, letting her down again. Hog joins in to help him, and both of them leave the room, taking Bonnie away.

“Now,” Walter says, watching the table like how a hungry cat watches a mouse, “I hope we have no further distractions. Let me tell you as to what you are expected to do as head enforcers…and what happens if you fail to enforce the laws and peace.”

November 6, Wednesday, Year of 1842. Ethan Saint.

Ethan is a Galan turned New Galan only two weeks ago, but he has already found himself amongst Queen Lotti’s best squad, and he regrets it now, sitting in a carriage, doing nothing. His carriage consists of the Queen, Lynx, Ash, him and Nina. Out of them, only Ash is the talkative type.

They stop at a place called Black Daggers tavern, and Ethan cannot believe how the Queen likes to stop at dirty taverns rather than polished hotels. She also always wears the uniform, and Ethan decides that she must at least have twenty of those. It is quite risky wearing that uniform in Gala, but the red witch must be the last person to care about that. She grabs Nina and both of them head outside the tavern. Strange.

“Where are they going?” Ethan asks, taking a sip of the beer.

Ash looks at him, then says, “I don’t care…and you shouldn’t either. If Miss Lotti senses you approaching, she’ll behead you so quickly that you won’t have any time to react.”

“I’ve heard tales about her,” Ethan says, trying not to look at Ash’s eyes. They’re blue. Is she a Cyran?

“Who hasn’t? The red witch is quite famous. Everyone knows a couple tales, at least. Most of them are not true…but it is true that she can behead very fast, and from very far. She doesn’t hesitate, you see.”

Ethan frowns. “I thought you meant beheading using a sword. How could she behead me from far away?”

“It has to be the wind or water,” Lynx joins in.

“Yes, it has to be wind or water…but I’m not sure how she does it,” Ash admits.

“It’s not possible to push wind that fast,” Ethan says, disbelief clear in his eyes.

Ash shrugs. “Don’t doubt Lynx. He’s always so serious—I don’t think he can even lie. Have you ever tried lying, Lynx?”

Lynx shakes his head after a minute, recalling all times, and somehow Ethan finds it more unbelievable than beheading people using air. “You must be joking!” Ethan says, looking at both of them.

“Maybe as a child?” Ash asks.

“I don’t remember my childhood well, so it is possible that I did in fact lie.” Lynx says.

Ethan finishes his drink in one go and then asks, looking at Ash, “Is he serious?”

Ash nods. “You can’t lie if you don’t speak. He talked even less at the rebel camp. You should have seen him! Miss Lotti would have taken you in back then just as easily because you’re a hex. That’s like, what, one in a million? Six elements! Rudis must love you very dearly!”

“Yes…I suppose he must,” Ethan admits, staring at the empty jar of his beer. “But it’s not an achievement by any means. It’s just a gift. I haven’t done much except…being born. Her Majesty is quite different, isn’t she?”

“Magic generally doesn’t grow too much after adulthood,” Ash says, “And Miss Lotti was already quite powerful at 13 or 14. But even now, I don’t think her magic has stopped growing. She is 28! How does that happen?”

“Have you tried asking her?” Lynx interjects, and Ash shakes her head, saying, “There are easier ways to kill myself. She would torture me to death, and she would enjoy it very dearly.”

Ash then turns to Ethan, asking, “How did you know she was different? That her power keeps growing?”

“My older sister…let’s say, knew her when she was 14 or 15. She said that Her Majesty was very strong, but not as strong as she is right now. She said that Her Majesty couldn’t possibly the strongest magician in Gala. Maybe in her county, but not in Gala.”

Ash shrugs. “Yes, that’s true. I’ve heard the same thing from many others, too. They say that she was not particularly charismatic either, was she? She didn’t like talking to people at 14 or 15 but now the New Galans adore—…wait. Is 15 the age when she was accused of killing couple of her classmates? She talked about it once.”

“My sister says it was never proven that it was her.”

“Did they die horribly?” Lynx asks.

“Slow burns. Fire.”

“Definitely her.”

“She used to take around three hours a day to spend time with Nina,” Ash says, “But now they do the same thing in fifteen minutes. That’s…not believable, is it? Have any of you noticed time being strange when around her? It’s—”

“Shut up,” Lynx says, and Ash does so immediately, glancing at the door. Lotti seems to have come back with Nina but this time, Nina seems unconscious and…red. Lotti carries her with wind, stopping by at their table. She drops Nina on it, and then looks at Ethan. “Heal her.”

Ethan finally realizes the red is blood, and asks, frowning, “What did you do to her?”

“That’s not your job,” Lotti says, waving her head. “Just heal her. I don’t want her to die.”

“Are you torturing her?” Ethan asks again, then realizes he is trembling.

Lotti shakes her head. “I don’t think…that is what it should be called. We’re just experimenting. Sometimes, it just involves a little bit of blood and pain.”

Ethan’s frown deepens. “What…what do you mean?”

“Heal her. I’ll count to five.”

Ethan gives in after a second, starting to heal Nina. Lotti nods, satisfied, as a crowd assembles near them. The tavern is in Gala, which is their enemy, but they don’t say or do anything, most likely knowing that Lotti is the infamous red witch. Ethan didn’t think there are many in Gala—or Adrias—that haven’t heard of her. Besides, Ethan doesn’t think most civilians in Gala dislike New Gala. They’re quite fond of her, it seems, from their eager yet careful eyes.

Nina regains consciousness after a minute, and rubs her eyes. She looks up at Lotti for a moment, then looks down again. “I failed once again, didn’t I?” She asks.

“What happened?” Ethan asks, but not to Lotti.

Nina turns around to look at him, then covers her nose. Looks like the smell of the tavern finally got to her. Or maybe it’s just the beer that Ethan drank. Or maybe it’s Ethan. He hopes it’s not him as she says, “Nothing happened. This isn’t the first…and isn’t the last. I’m going to keep trying.”

Lotti looks at Nina, then whispers, “I’m sure we’ll find more material in Sophia. I’ll request access to their library.”

Nina nods. She gets off the table the same time as Galan soldiers start popping inside the tavern through the door. They look at Lotti and she instantly raises an air barrier around the five of them. “It’s fun being famous,” Lotti says.

“It’s because of the uniform you’re wearing,” Ash says. “They wouldn’t know we’re New Galans if you didn’t wear that. There’s no difference in appearance or accent to identify us.”

“But what fun would that be?” Lotti asks, then unsheathes her sword, glaring at the tavern door. More and more soldiers seem to be slipping inside, all wearing a helm and an armour. They seem to be fully prepared. “We really do have a rat inside, then,” Lotti says to them, and then asks, “How long until Della’s or Raze’s carriage reaches here?”

“We left two hours apart to avoid notice,” Nina says, “And it’s been about four hours since we’ve been here. They should have been here by now.”

“It’s only been an hour and half,” Ash says, frowning at Nina, who frowns back at Ash. Then they both look at Lotti in unison, understanding. One of the red witch’s tricks, of course. “I was wrong,” Nina says, “It’s been an hour and half. Unless they got side-tracked, Della’s carriage will be here in thirty minutes, and Raze’s carriage in two hours and thirty minutes.”

“Does anyone want to count how many of them are there?” Lotti asks, as the people inside the tavern evacuate or are forced to evacuate through the entrance, the Galan soldiers letting them pass.

Ethan guesses it’s about 50 inside the tavern, at least. He doesn’t know how many of them are outside. Once the civilians are outside the tavern, the commander shouts, “The red witch! Your atrocities end now!”

Lotti’s air barrier is attacked by a round of bullets, and then wind is pushed against it.

“I…I give up,” Lotti sighs, but despite that, strengthens the barrier.

“Give up?” Nina asks, scared.

“I mean, I give up on counting them,” Lotti clarifies. “I got to 26 and then grew tired.”

“It might be easier to just ask,” Ash says.

Lotti looks at her, then looks at the enemies, shouting, “How many soldiers do you have?”

The commanding officer hesitates a full ten seconds before responding, “We have 700 soldiers! You should surrender peacefully!”

“So it has to be around 300,” Lotti says. Ash nods, and another round of musket shots almost breaks the barrier. “I don’t want to kill 300 Galan soldiers. They have families…and then I wouldn’t be popular among Galans anymore. So we’ll have to do this the hard way…by knocking them out.”

“We could try to run away,” Ash suggests. “The tavern’s walls seem quite strong so that’s out of option…but underground maybe?”

“I’d rather die than run away. Nobody wants a coward as their ruler,” Lotti says, then releases her barrier, pushing air in all directions. It flings the soldiers against each other, and they fall down. “Try not to kill, but you can if they’re too much trouble.” Lotti raises a barrier yet again.

Nina takes a deep breath, then says, “Capture the tavern’s entrance, and then defend our position from there. We won’t be at an overwhelming numbers disadvantage if the area of fighting is limited to just the entrance. One of you can cover it while the other three rest.”

Ethan and Ash look back at Nina. She’s right. The stone door seems like it would hold, and limiting the air barrier to only the entrance will buy them more time. Besides, the enemies can’t fit more than two soldiers at once through the door. “You heard her,” Lotti says, smiling so awfully that Ethan instinctively holds his sword defensively.

She tosses Nina to Ash. “Keep her safe,” she says, and then she charges at the door with Ethan and Lynx.